Iron Powder and Spellcaster

"Nan Xincun, Bart Shilling!"

"Hexi Village, 'Red Face' Philpott!"

…

Vashika took out a small piece of paper with his name written on it from the iron pot and handed it to Panviche beside him.

The old butler read the words on the note loudly and registered it on the roster.

One name after another rang through the town square, and the farmers who were named were ashen-faced. The farmers who didn't hear their names secretly escaped by chance.

There are more and more small pieces of paper piled next to Panviche's right hand, and the forty-eight places are about to be filled.

Someone in the town square counted aloud, and the count reached forty-seven.

Everyone watched nervously as Vashika pulled out the last note from the iron pot, and many believers prayed silently.

Pray that you don’t hear your name or that of your family members next.

Panviche took the last paper sign from Vashika and was stunned for a moment.

"Read it quickly!" someone in the square couldn't help but urge.

Panviche took a deep look at the young man next to him and read loudly: "Dusa Village, Vashka Sergenovitch Morozov!"

…

All candidates for military service have been determined.

With pity in their eyes, eighty young people walked out of the crowd and stood in the open space of the town square. The Wolf Town Hundreds gathered together for the first time.

Sergey shouted instructions, and several old Dusaks ran in the queue, arranging the scattered young men into four neat lines.

As the queue took shape, these farm boys finally looked like soldiers.

Father Anthony began to lead the new militiamen to take an oath. When he recited one sentence, the militiamen followed suit. Then one by one they came up to Father Anthony and kissed the book and the sacred vessels.

After the oath was taken, the militiamen lined up again and listened to the second lieutenant's instructions.

"Escape from service is a serious crime, and kin join together, so don't take risks." Winters started with a brief explanation: "Many of you are still young, and many of you have never held a weapon, but after taking the oath, you will not Children, there are no farmers, only soldiers. From this moment on, you are bound by military law. Go home, get ready, and kiss your parents, wives, and children."

Winters scanned the faces before him and concluded: "Now, soldiers, go home. May you all be blessed."

…

Winters thought the draw was the end of the draw, but things were not as simple as he thought. The draw ceremony only announced the end of the first half and the second half had just begun.

Before the people in the market dispersed, the Hoffmans approached Lieutenant Montagne. The Hoffman family is the owner of Golden Spike Manor and can be regarded as one of the most prominent landowners in Wolf Town.

The piece of paper with Little Hoffman's name on it had just been pulled out of the iron pot, and Old Hoffman was obviously unwilling to let his son leave home to serve.

"Mr. Hoffman." Winters politely but firmly stopped the opponent in advance: "The lottery ceremony is absolutely fair. Your son is unlucky to be selected, and I can't help you."

"Understood, sir, we understand." Old Hoffman rubbed his hands and said, "I mean... still doing it the same way as in previous years?"

"What was the solution in previous years?" Winters raised his eyebrows inadvertently.

Old Hoffman replied matter-of-factly: "Sir, of course it's the same as in previous years."

Soon, Winters knew what the old Hoffman was talking about.

The method is an unexpected person.

"Sir." Balian, the young blacksmith, stood in front of the second lieutenant: "I volunteer to serve in place of Mr. Hoffman."

"Didn't I ask you?" Winters glanced at the blacksmith: "You said you were unwilling at that time."

As early as when the conscription order was first issued, Winters asked the blacksmith "Would you like to sign up for the militia?"

An army always needs a blacksmith, especially a capable one.

Soldiers with special skills like Balian can not only avoid heavy physical labor such as digging trenches and building camps, but can also receive double their salary.

At that time, Balian smiled silently and shook his head, rejecting the second lieutenant's proposal. But now he took the initiative to serve in place of little Hoffman.

Hearing the second lieutenant's question, Balian replied calmly: "I am not willing to do it now."

"So that's it." Winters nodded: "How much did you sell yourself for?"

"Mr. Hoffman gave a very fair price."

Winters had heard of draftees paying someone to serve in their place, but he wasn't sure if it was legal.

After Balian left, Winters asked Girard and learned that "substitutes" were common knowledge in Plato.

As long as they get enough manpower, the New Land Garrison Corps doesn't care if there are any replacements among them.

In previous years, if the son of the owner of the Wolf Town Manor was drawn, he would spend a sum of money to hire someone to replace him. Anyway, as long as the roster has not been handed over to the garrison, it will be fine.

But if the replacement deserts the service, the original service member will also have to serve, so the candidate must be honest and reliable.

It is not uncommon for tenant farmers and long-term laborers to serve for others for several consecutive times, and it is not uncommon for them to use the money saved by the laborers to purchase land and become homesteaders.

"Belion? Misha's assistant? Misha likes him very much." Gilad thought for a while and said, "Don't he have a brother working in the Hoffman family? I guess it is to buy a property for his brother."

Winters had a disdain for hiring substitutes. But this is also a disguised form of fairness, and he does not want to break the original operating rules.

So the name of Little Hoffman was crossed out from the roster, and "Berrian of South New Village" was added.

Before the ink on the roster was dry, Bell ran over happily: "Sir, I volunteer to serve in Mr. Wilkes' place!"

Winters finally understood how old Mr. Mitchell felt when he picked up the stick.

"Why are you here to cause trouble?" He suppressed the thought of beating up the naughty kid in front of him: "I haven't figured out what to do with your new pet yet!"

…

Time goes back five days to the hunter's cabin.

Winters, Bell and a lion cub - now no bigger than a cat but sure to weigh hundreds of kilograms in the future - share the same room.

Bell quickly picked up the lion cub from the ground and protected it in his arms. The little lion whined dissatisfiedly and tried hard to climb onto Bell's shoulder.

"Sir, please don't kill it." Bell begged, holding the cub in his arms and stepping back, almost crying.

Silence, a silence that lasted for more than ten seconds.

Winters sighed and asked, "Is he weaned now?"

"not yet."

"Then what do you feed it?"

"It started with dog milk. Someone's dog gave birth to puppies in Hedong Village. Later, when the dog milk was not enough, I bought goat milk with them."

"Is this what you want money for?"

Bell nodded.

"Can't you just tell me?" Winters dragged a chair and sat down: "Put it down. The little thing is extremely uncomfortable being held by you. If I want to kill it, you can't stop it."

Bell wiped his tears and carefully placed the cub on the ground. The freed cub quickly hid in the corner of the room.

The pitiful look of the little hunter reminded Winters of Elizabeth, whom the little general had picked up from outside and begged Kesha to adopt when he was a child - only he wasn't called the little general at that time, just a cat whose eyes hadn't opened yet.

The scene before him inadvertently touched a soft place in his heart.

[Don't be impatient. ] Winters thought to himself, and he warned himself: [Speak in words that Bell can understand. ]

The poor second lieutenant is not yet married, but is already experiencing the pain of raising children.

"Male or female?" Winters motioned to another chair across the table: "Don't stand, sit down and talk."

"Male." Bell sat on the chair obediently.

"When it is two months old, milk alone will not be enough. By then it will need to eat meat, you know?"

Bell shook his head first, then nodded quickly.

"It wants to eat meat, how are you going to feed it then?" Winters' question became sharp.

Bell hurriedly replied: "I know how to hunt! I hunt rabbits, deer, and wild boars to feed them!"

"Based on your ability, you should be able to feed it before it is half a year old. Let me be generous and assume that you can feed it until it is one year old." Winters tapped the table gently and stared closely into the little hunter's eyes: "But do you know how long a lioness has to carry her cubs?"

The little hunter stared blankly.

"Two years at least." Winters said coldly: "According to Brother Rhett, it is not surprising for a lion cub to follow a lioness for three years. You have also seen the size of its mother. You can still see it after it is one year old. Can you feed it enough?"

"At that time, I can put it back in the forest, and it will be able to eat enough by itself in the forest." Bell You argued.

"Boy, have you ever had a cat?" Winters asked a nonsensical question.

The little hunter shook his head.

"Only kittens raised by mother cats can catch mice, because the mother cat will teach the kittens how to hunt. Cats raised by humans will not catch mice even if they are put in front of them. Are you a lioness? It eats Will I still hunt if I get used to what you feed me?"

"I..." Bell was speechless.

"I'll ask you again, why did your father risk his life to kill his mother?" Winters didn't give the little hunter a chance to breathe, and asked and answered himself: "Because his mother is a cannibal. And why is his mother a cannibal? Isn't it? Because the prey in the forest doesn’t have enough to eat? If you send it back to the forest, it will have enough to eat? Aren’t you going to repeat the tragedy of its mother again?”

There was another moment of silence, then Bell sobbed and said, "I don't care, I just can't kill it anyway."

The little lion hiding in the corner of the room gradually lost its fear. It couldn't restrain its curiosity and crawled toward the strange and terrifying Ape erectus beside the table.

Winters felt something touching his boots, and when he lowered his head, he discovered that the lion cub had run out at some point and was rubbing and chewing on the toes of his boots.

He picked up the little lion. The little lion's body was fluffy, soft, and warm, really like a cat's touch.

Bell was startled. I was about to come up and grab it, but I saw that the ensign just put the little lion on the table and played with it casually, and then sat back on the chair.

"You don't want to kill it either, do you?" Bell asked cautiously.

"I never said this. If I think it will plague Wolf Town in the future, then I will not hesitate. But now there are many possibilities." Winters gently rubbed the cub Chi's round belly, The little lion whined dissatisfiedly: "Have you helped him defecate and urinate today?"

Bell was obviously panicked: "What?"

"Don't you understand? Then it's probably the mother dog you found for him to do it for him." Winters sighed: "Otherwise, this little guy would have died long ago. It's only because of his tenacious vitality that he can survive in your hands until now."

Winters took out a handkerchief from his arms, dipped it in warm water and gently wiped the cub's excretion area. After a while, the handkerchief was completely wet with the light yellow liquid.

The urine that had been held in for several days finally stopped squeezing the bladder, and the little lion yawned happily.

"Boy, haven't you realized yet?" Winters walked to the basin to wash his hands and said without looking back: "You don't have the ability to take care of this little guy now. If I put him here with you, sooner or later he will be taken care of." I was killed by you. This is a matter of ability, not willingness."

Although Bell was not convinced, he was speechless when he saw the handkerchief wet with light yellow liquid on the table.

"And even if you can raise it, you have no idea what to do when it grows up." After washing his hands, Winters sat back in his seat and pointed to the handkerchief on the table with his chin: "Wash it and return it tomorrow. Give me."

"Then what do you think we should do..." Bell said dejectedly.

"The best fate for this giant beast in the future is probably to live in the cage of a high-ranking official. Send it to the emperor's court, and it will live a very comfortable life in the future." Winters said with a wry smile: "Maybe the Directory of Veneta will also be happy to buy a lion as a mascot."

"No!" Bell stood up suddenly: "That's an insult to Tengger!"

The little lion was frightened, climbed off the table and fled to the corner of the room.

Winters held his chin and said calmly: "But it can't go back to the mountains and forests. I am the resident officer of Wolf Town, and I will not allow any possibility of harming the people of Wolf Town. You If you have to put it back, then either I will kill it or people from other towns will kill it. Do you want to see this?"

"I will keep it for the rest of my life." Bell said coquettishly.

Winters chuckled and said, "Let's not talk about the money issue. When it grows up, I'm afraid there won't be enough pigs and sheep in the whole town for it to eat."

The little hunter was silent again.

"I'm curious, why do you have to protect it?" Winters asked seriously.

"Because it is the spirit of the wilderness, Tengger's pet and mount." Bell whispered, "My mother said that."

"Your mother is a Hurd, right?"

"Um."

"But your father has killed a giant lion before."

"The giant lion wants to kill my father, and my father also wants to kill the giant lion. This is fair." Bell continued in a low voice: "But Tengger does not allow the indiscriminate killing of cubs. My family already owes a cub to the gods. I must repay the lion’s debt on behalf of my father, otherwise he will not be able to rest in peace and reincarnate.”

"Oops, I'm still a believer, now I can't explain it," Winters thought.

Bell called softly, and the lion cub ran over from the corner of the house docilely, showing no signs of being frightened.

It climbed onto Bell's knees, rubbed its head hard against Bell's chin, and licked Bell's face.

Seeing the close relationship between a man and a lion, Winters didn't know what to do: "You don't want to send it to captivity."

The little hunter nodded.

"It might be feasible to send it back to the forest, but I don't agree." Winters said helplessly, viciously, and self-destructively: "You bastard, go to the circus from now on!"

…

Time returned to the present, and Bell came happily: "Sir, I volunteer to serve in Mr. Wilkes' place!"

"Why are you causing trouble? I haven't figured out what to do with your new pet yet!"

"I have thought of what to do!" Bell shouted excitedly, with a look of joy in his eyes: "The white lion is a sacred object among the four-legged tribes. We can return the white lion to the Great Khan!"

Winters shuddered at the little hunter's head: "I'm going to fight the Great Khan!"

[Note: The tribes of four-legged people are what the Hed people call themselves, meaning people who ride on horses. ]

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Thanks to my book friends Wuji Xiaogao, Jiang Xuediaoweng, Last Night's Stone, Sputnik No. 1, I Don't Know What It's Called, Walking on the Flooding Road, behere370, The Flower Planter's Yellow Rabbit, Calm Gray Pass, and Sky Lens , 54 months, Book Friends 20191007064305842, Moon Night’s Edge, Book Friends 120325172509365’s recommendation votes, thank you all.