Iron Powder and Spellcaster

Among the currencies in circulation in the republics, the most popular is the gold ducat coin minted by the Aquamarine Central Mint.

[Note: The original meaning of the word ducat is "coin minted by the duke." Many regimes have used this term to refer to the currency issued by their own country. But with the popularity of the Veneta ducat, the term now refers specifically to the Veneta gold coin. ]

The fineness of the Veneta Ducat is similar to that of pure gold, and its quality is stable, so its currency value is the strongest. Large quantities of goods were traded in ducats, making gold coins minted by other allies pale in comparison.

Take the interprovincial gold shield, another gold coin with a large circulation, as an example. Usually ten interprovincial gold shields can only be worth seven ducats. If you pay with gold shields, you need to compensate the seller for the fire cost.

The value of gold shields minted in different years is slightly different. Generally speaking, the value of gold shields that are more recent is lower - the base metals mixed into gold shields by the Mint of the United Provinces are increasing day by day, and everyone is well aware of this.

As a result, it was quite inconvenient to use the golden shield, and it was even less able to challenge Dukat's status.

Not only within the territory of the Senas Alliance, but even merchants as far away as the Empire and the Near East are very willing to use ducats for transactions. Therefore, the large outflow of gold coins every year also caused some troubles for the Republic of Veneta.

Therefore, merchants and craftsmen in various republics directly call the ducat "gold", while other types of gold coins have different names.

For most people in the Alliance, Dukat is equivalent to pure gold and is one of the main ways people come into contact with gold.

But what Kesha and Anna sent was a completely different kind of gold—a whole gold bar weighing nearly 200 grams, which was so valuable that Winters couldn't use it at all.

Each 3.56-gram ducat is rarely circulated in the market because of its high currency value, let alone a gold bar like this that can hold 56 ducats.

Kesha said that Winters would understand what she meant when he saw the gold bars, but the only use Winters could think of was to use them as bribes.

It's just that Winters, a stranger in the world, doesn't even have the means to bribe, and he can't leave his contemporaries alone.

After supporting each other in the arduous siege, sharing tents and hot food in the bone-chilling winter of the archipelago, and experiencing the Battle of Taniriya together, the bond between this generation of Veneta cadets is far stronger than that of their predecessors.

Although there is no place to spend money now, gold bars are no different from lead bars. But after suddenly having a large sum of precious metals at his disposal, Winters' anxiety and pressure unconsciously eased a lot.

Money is so magical.

…

Ciel got his wish and stayed with Winters, but Gold didn't stay in Wolftown for long.

The pirate leader left the next day, and Winters escorted him to the Blackwater River ferry.

"I'll leave the rest to you, Captain Gold." Winters saluted Gold solemnly.

"It's a small thing." Gold laughed loudly: "You are not afraid that I will take the money and run away."

"Then I'm not worried." Winters also said with a smile: "As long as you don't tell Miss Navarre that I gave away the golden ticket."

Gold not only carried Winters' reply, but also a promissory note from the goldsmith Albert of the Castle of Kings.

The goldsmith's promissory note was brought by Anna Tochar, which is essentially a stub that can be exchanged for pre-deposited gold at the goldsmith.

The coins circulating on the market vary in fineness, so in the past people had to send gold and silver to goldsmiths to have coins of uniform specifications cast.

Not only does the Precious Metal Crafter have a vault, he also hires guards. Gradually, people discovered that gold was far safer with a goldsmith than in their own hands.

The goldsmith recognizes the note but does not recognize the person, and pays gold based on the note. As a result, gold tickets also evolved into a kind of currency in disguise. Because they were concealed and convenient to carry, they were widely used and traded by merchants.

According to Winters' request, Gold will first go to the Kings' Castle to exchange the promissory note for gold coins, and then bring the map and gold coins to the Venetian ensigns scattered throughout the newly cultivated land.

The people of Veneta may not be having a good time. Now that Winters has plenty of money, he hopes to help others as much as possible.

This was a difficult task because Winters knew neither how many of the contemporaries were assigned to new lands nor where exactly others were located.

At Andre and Bud's place, Winters asked Charles to send four gold bars to each of them. The remaining Veneta people could only rely on Gold to find them town by town.

"Mr. Gold, I really don't know how to thank you...Really, thank you." Winters thanked this former enemy from the bottom of his heart.

"Don't thank me. What's there to thank you for?" Gold showed his gold teeth and said, "It's not like I'm working for nothing, I'm getting paid."

After speaking, Gold laughed, stabbed the horse in the ribs, and walked away.

Watching his old friend leave, Winters suddenly realized Lieutenant Mason's state of mind.

…

Lieutenant Colonel Custer and Lieutenant Mason were right. In mid-September, one week after Charles and Gold arrived in Wolf Town, the Army correspondent sent three things to Second Lieutenant Montagne.

Di newspaper, next quarter's salary and a recruitment order from the new reclamation corps.

The content of the order is very brief, and the specific plan is unclear. There are only a few words describing the requirements and time.

To quote part of the original text:

"Major General of the Republic of Plato, Commander of the New Legion of Reclamation, recipient of the Order of the Violet, Kevin J. Adams issues this order in accordance with the honorable and inviolable "Tolde Agreement".

"Langtun Town, under the jurisdiction of the Condominium County, is obliged to provide militia as auxiliary troops when the New Reclamation Corps needs them."

Putting aside the red tape, the specific content is that Langtun Town is required to provide a full hundred-man militia without the need to prepare its own weapons, and the selection is limited to able-bodied males between the ages of 15 and 35.

The roster must be sent to the Rewardan garrison before October 15th. The specific gathering place and time will be notified later.

The tone of this requisition order does not sound like it comes from a republican government, but rather like a noble noble in the old days asking lower-level vassals to fulfill their allegiance obligations.

Just ask for people, don’t ask for anything else.

It is important to know that the less content and broader the limitations of the instructions, the greater the room for maneuver left to the executor.

This order issued by General Adams did not have any restrictions except for the quality of the draws. If it fell into the hands of some people with evil intentions, it would not be difficult for ordinary farmers to lose their homes and families.

Winters was quite surprised by this, but Gilad and the civilians in the villages of Wolf Town were already used to it.

After the order was read out in each village, the villagers had no objection to the method of drawing dice. The only thing they cared about was the number of dice drawn.

Many villagers murmured: "Last time, only forty people were recruited. Why are we recruiting eighty people this time?" Some literate villagers even had the courage to see the original recruitment order.

However, the order to seal the seal with fire paint was clearly written in white and black letters. Although everyone was dissatisfied, they only complained a few words. In front of Winters and Girard, no one dared to openly object.

Winters also didn't expect that the people of Wolf Town would naturally accept the need to be drafted into service. The process of reading out the order was so smooth that he almost didn't need to speak.

Returning to the police station, Winters invited Girard, Father Carman and Brother Reed to discuss the method of drawing.

"Don't worry too much. Langtun has experienced drawing lots many times before, and everyone is used to it." Girard saw Winters' uneasiness: "If you want me to say, I still use the old method, drawing lots."

Father Carman shook his head: "I'm afraid it won't work just by drawing lots. In the past, only forty people were drawn, which is not too much. This time, eighty people will be drawn, all young people from each village. If a family is drawn, With the situation of these two people, it will be difficult for the remaining old, weak, women and children in the family. I am afraid some people will escape from the service."

Gilad thought about it and said: "Draw lots, what about those who don't win the lottery and collect some money as compensation?"

"Maybe it's feasible." Father Carman held the necklace and said, "But you have to decide how much compensation to give. Some families are poor and some are rich. It's best to make a distinction."

Gilad and Carman discussed it word by word.

But what Winters is more curious about is what Girard said: "Wolftun has experienced many draws before."

"What was it like to have sex before?" Winters asked.

"Ahem." Gilad sighed and said: "Every time we fight with the Hed people, no matter how big or small the battle is, there will be a draw. We didn't have a resident officer here before, so I took the people there."

Not only were the taxes on the newly cultivated land heavy and complex, but corvee labor was also more frequent than Winters imagined.

Seeing Winters' frown, Gilad quickly added: "They are said to be militiamen, but they are actually just civilians. They hardly need to go into battle to kill the enemy. They mainly do chores for the soldiers, move things, and escort supplies."

"Fight with the Herds? What do you mean?" Winters' focus was not on what Girard said: "Have you fought many times?"

"Aren't you talking nonsense?" Rhett sneered: "To the east of Plato is Veneta and the United Provinces, and to the west are the Hed tribes. If we don't fight the Heds, will we have to go to war with the allies?"

"Why didn't I hear much about Plato's war with the Hedians when I was in the United Provinces and Veneta?"

"Does everyone talk about it when a dog bites a man?" The old monk said mockingly: "Only when a man bites a dog. Is there anything special about the war between the plateau people and the Herd people? Especially you Venetians, Venetians What else do the Veneta people care about besides money? Haven’t they always been indifferent to Plato? If Plato unearths a big gold mine one day, I guarantee that the Veneta people will all know about it the next day.”

Winters ignored the old stickman's sarcastic tone and asked: "I mean... why do you want to fight?"

"Why fight?" Rhett laughed as if he heard the most ridiculous joke: "You should ask when the ceasefire was?"

He stood up, dipped his fingers in wine and began to draw on the table. After a few strokes, he outlined the general outline of the Plato Plateau.

"The Hedians are not a whole. The tribes and the Platuan people fight each other for a small amount every three years and a large amount every five years. The history of conquering each other is at least hundreds of years. If we start from the ancient empire's western expedition, then It has been thousands of years. The Platuan people today are actually the imperial Hed people, and they were originally one of the tribes. It’s just that the Platuan people don’t recognize it.”

While drawing pictures on the table, the old monk said to himself: "In the past hundred years, earlier, the Plattus and the Heds had won and lost each other. The tribes even fought all the way to the castles of the kings. The Duke of Latour hid in the castle and shivered, letting the Hurds go around burning, killing and looting."

The old beggar monk suddenly stopped, counted with his fingers, and sighed: "In total, that was already sixty years ago."

Winters, Girard, and Father Carman all listened with rapt attention.

"Then what?" Winters asked.

"Then the Hedians played themselves to death. Infighting, division, and fighting for the throne, the same old thing." The old monk sneered: "But the Platuan people got the weapons of the United Provinces and the gold of Veneta. Now Of course the Hittites cannot bear the situation. The place you are sitting on was originally the land of the Suta tribe of the Hittites. Isn't it now the newly cultivated land of Plato?"

The old monk raised his chin towards Father Carman: "Wolf Town Church is the church built by heretics who came to Suta to preach in the early years, so the murals on the wall are Arian murals, don't you know?"

"What did you say?" Father Carman was stunned.

"You go back and take a closer look to see if the Son of God on the mural has progressed from being beardless to having a beard. This means that the Son of God is a human being, which is exactly the teaching of the Arians." The old mendicant monk chuckled and said: "Come on The people who took over the church property didn't know anything, so they took it over as it was, and the murals were not modified. I was afraid that old boy Anthony would be so angry that I was too embarrassed to mention this to him."

"Where did Sutabe go?" Winters asked.

"Where else can we go? They've all gone to heaven." The old monk pointed at Gilad: "Mr. Mitchell also contributed."

Gilad was originally listening with rapt attention, but he couldn't help being surprised when he was suddenly called out. After a while, he slowly replied: "When we Dussa people first arrived in Plato, the newly cultivated land was indeed not new."

Winters thought of the Hud people on Red Sulfur Island who were not afraid of death in order to return home, and couldn't help but sigh: "You mean the war between the Galloping Horse Country and the Hud tribes has never stopped?"

"That's more or less what it means." The old monk blinked: "It's been beating and stopping, and it's been beating and stopping. Overall, it hasn't stopped."

Winters thought again of the war in Veneta and the Islands: "Are the Heds rich?"

"No, on the contrary, the Hittites are very poor. So in the past, the Hittites attacked and the Platts defended." The old monk pointed to the map on the table and said, "But it's different now. Now it's the Platts who defend." The people attack and the Hedians defend. The country of Galloping Horses is eager for more land, but cannot attack the United Provinces and Veneta, so naturally it can only move westward."

"Isn't there no man's land further west?" Winters also visited the west bank of the Bighorn River not long ago.

"I think what I want this time is this 100-kilometer-wide no-man's land." The old monk said, stroking his beard: "The Platuan people rely on trophies to fight their wars. The more they fight, the more they need trophies, and the more they need trophies, the more they must continue. The war is like a snowball... But it has nothing to do with you. Just relax, the people of Wolf Town will definitely support the war with the Hurds. If the compensation is reasonable, it will not be difficult to gather a hundred-man militia."

"Why?" Winters became more and more confused: "There are still people who are willing to fight? I mean poor people... there are still poor people who are willing to fight."

"Boy, you are completely wrong." Rhett narrowed his eyes and said inscrutably: "In the Republic of Plato, the people who most want to go to war with the Herds are the 'poor people' you call them."

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