Iron Powder and Spellcaster

In the early morning, Shovel Harbor was awakened by the sound of horse hooves, and three strange cavalrymen with green flags rushed into the town like lightning.

They first rang the bell to gather the residents, and then posted the three notices on the church door. Without reading them out - the literate townspeople would read them to others - they simply left and went to the next village.

…

Shovel Lake is located northwest of Jevaudan and is the largest lake in Tiefeng County.

According to folklore, in ancient times, in order to educate the Plato people, the saint Ados performed a miracle in public and dug a lake with just a shovel.

From then on, the Palatuan people here converted to Catholicism, and the lake was also named Shovel Lake.

The port town located on the lakeside is naturally also called Shovel Port.

The people of Shouzigang mainly make a living by farming and fishing, and some people do business and work hard.

Commodities shipped from downstream are unloaded here. Many crops sold in Tiefeng County are also shipped here.

Due to its unique geographical conditions, Shovel Harbor has gradually developed into a wealthy town in Tiefeng County, second only to Jevaudan.

…

After the strange cavalry left, the townspeople gradually gathered in front of the notice. There was a well-dressed old gentleman who squinted his eyes and pretended to read deeply.

There are three notices in total, saying three things, and the content is simple and straightforward.

…

The first article is "Encouraging Farmers".

This year’s winter is warm and the wheat is jointing early. The tribune of Montagne ordered the town and village chiefs to immediately organize manpower [pressing wheat seedlings] and organizations [cattle and horses lying on the ground] without delay.

[Pressing wheat seedlings] means using rollers and rolling logs to flatten wheat seedlings.

Rolling overgrown winter wheat is not only harmless, but also beneficial. The wheat will grow stronger next spring.

This is what the farming experts invited from Shengke Town said about "holding a market in a wheat field" - Winters also spent a lot of effort to understand it.

It was just that people were used to trample the wheat seedlings to hold the market, but Winters went a step further and directly ordered the villages and towns to use rollers and rolling logs to "crush the wheat seedlings."

[Cattle and horses lying on the ground] was a method told to Winters by another famous farmer "Arator".

Winter wheat is very delicate when it first sprouts. It cannot be touched or stepped on. If you are not careful, it will be uprooted.

But it's different now. After nearly a month of growth, the roots of the wheat have developed very firmly.

Even if cattle and horses gnaw, they will not damage the root system under the soil. The gnawing of wheat seedlings will actually be beneficial to the development of wheat in the coming year.

Moreover, after winter, the vegetation dries up, and cows and horses tend to gain weight easily by eating hay.

Allowing large livestock to nibble on fresh wheat seedlings not only helps the livestock survive the winter and preserve fat, but also allows the livestock to trample the wheat fields, which has the effect of "crushing the seedlings."

Moreover, if the cow and horse manure is left in the fields, the wheat will grow vigorously in the coming year, which can be said to kill three birds with one stone.

The farmer named [Arator] was forcibly taken to Gevaudan, fearful and trembling along the way.

After seeing the blood wolf with his own eyes, he realized that the tribune had not summoned everyone to blackmail, but to "protect the people."

In addition to being lucky, Arator felt a little moved.

He no longer hid it, and poured out all the farm secrets at the bottom of the box.

In addition to cows and horses lying on the ground, there is also "sheep lying on the ground", but the process of sheep lying on the ground is more troublesome. Special personnel were needed to keep an eye on it all night, but Montagne's tribune still prioritized the promotion of simple measures.

…

After "Encouraging Farmers", there is "Preparing for War".

The content of the "War Preparation Order" is more simple and straightforward. As the [Supreme Commander of the Garrison Army], Winters notified the villages and towns in Tiefeng County:

The day before yesterday, the garrison army captured the barbarian sentinel. The barbarian sentinels confessed that this year's mild winter and abundant forage would mean that the barbarians would raid the newly cultivated land for the second time.

The first part of this part is false, but the second part is true - Winters has no intention of spending too much time explaining the source of the intelligence.

The garrison officer in Montagne immediately ordered the [garrison officer] and [acting garrison officer] in each town to block roads, investigate suspicious persons, and set up sentries.

The most important thing is to immediately recruit the militia and set up beacon towers along the Big Horn River and inside every village and town.

Once the movement of the barbarians is discovered, a beacon must be raised immediately to warn, and Gévaudan will send troops to rescue. Anyone who delays military intelligence will be severely punished.

The beacon tower is limited to be ready within three days, and the garrison is due for inspection. Those who delay will also be punished severely.

Militia and beacon towers are emergency measures.

The Bighorn River isolates the wilderness from newly cultivated land, so it may be a good idea to defend based on the river.

But the border was too long, and Winters had too many places to defend. His troops were too few, and their mobility was far inferior to the Herd's light cavalry, which came and went like the wind.

Can the militia stand up to the Telton barbarians?

Winters was not optimistic, but if there was any hope, he would have to try.

The plan to recruit the militia was formulated by Winters himself and was divided into two stages.

The first stage: Each village and town forms a militia to be responsible for local defense.

Will the villages and towns be obedient? Of course not - Winters was prepared for that.

Towns like Mudi Town and Fuyuan Town, which are hundreds of kilometers away from the border, will not feel anything unless the barbarians kill them.

Not to mention that Winters was unable to provide any weapons or equipment to the militias everywhere.

The implementation of the first-stage plan is troublesome enough, but the difficulty of the first-stage plan is nothing compared to the second-stage plan.

As for what the second phase of the plan is, the respected Tribune Montagne did not mention it at all in the "Preparation for War" notice.

At this stage, if all villages and towns can organize militias in an orderly manner, Winters will have nothing more to ask for.

…

Compared with the first two notices, the third notice sounds less urgent.

The third notice has no name, but the general content is to order each village and town to select public opinion representatives and prepare to go to Gevaudan to participate in the "Complaints and Petitions Meeting". The specific time will be notified later.

"The new government hopes to investigate the sufferings of the people of Tiefeng County, and the travel expenses, food and accommodation expenses of public opinion representatives will be provided by the new government."

The whole article talks about two things, one is to convene representatives to hold a petition and grievance meeting, and the other is to ensure reimbursement of food and accommodation.

When talking about the Consultative Conference, the people of Tiefeng County could not understand it. But when it comes to the "petition and grievance meeting", all the old people who were born under the authority of the emperor understand it.

The latter item sounds ridiculous, but it was strongly suggested by the tobacconist Sr. Preskin.

Obviously, Mayor Priskin is still more experienced than the young officers.

…

The three notices were not long, and the old gentleman finished reading them quickly, and the surrounding townspeople began to chatter about them.

"Read it again! Good old man." Some townspeople who came late cheered: "We are late."

The old gentleman frowned slightly, cleared his throat, and started reading from the beginning again.

The belated townspeople listened carefully. The three notices were short and straightforward, with easy-to-understand words and grammar, even to the point of being "vulgar".

In order to write these three notices, Winters racked his brains. Bud is not here, and there is not even a qualified penman around him.

When he had a splitting headache, Winters suddenly had an idea and came up with the ultimate solution:

Six illiterate old farmers were found and the drafted notice was read to them first. If the old farmers didn't understand or heard ambiguities, they would change it until five of the six could understand it.

For example, the sentence "The scouts of the Teldu tribe of the Hud people are haunting the border of Tiefeng County" was changed over and over again, and finally changed to "The barbarians are coming to kill."

After the old gentleman recited it for the second time, someone started asking him to do it again. The old gentleman ignored him, shook his head and left.

The townspeople started talking more intensely.

The farmers are concerned about wheat jointing, and the fishermen and merchants are concerned about the militia - because there is already a militia in Shovel Port, no one cares about the grievances and petitions for the time being.

"Mayor Potal is here!" someone reminded loudly: "Give way."

The crowd made a way, and Dussac, a tall, broad-shouldered man, walked sullenly to the sign.

Dussac Portal is both the mayor of Shovel Harbor and the acting resident officer. In other words, in the political system of the New Reclamation Province, he is the actual ruler of Shovel Port.

He does not live in the town, but in the fortress-like "Portal Manor".

Adult Dusak, regardless of status, has been drafted. But no one knows what means Mayor Potal used to prevent him from being included in the call-up list.

The townspeople held their breath and watched in silence. Mayor Portal walked to the church door and tore down three notices.

Portal stood on the steps, crumpled the three notices into a ball of waste paper, glared and scolded:

"Crushing wheat seedlings? It's all fucking nonsense! That's the rebel leader trying to kill you!"

"The Barbarian is coming? To the west of Shovel Harbor is Shovel Lake! The Barbarian is coming? Come on!"

"Militia? Do we need the rebels to control it? We already have a militia in Shovel Port!"

"Fellow folks, let me tell you! Militia? Bullshit! The rebels want to capture you as soldiers!"

"Let's all disperse!"

The crowd left in disbelief.

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Mayor Potal immediately called his followers to bring their horses over.

He carefully put the "waste paper" made up of three notices into his arms, jumped on his horse, and galloped towards the Portal Manor outside the town.

As one of the first settlers, when Potal was placed in Tiefeng County, it was common for small groups of barbarians to cross the river and plunder, and new immigrants who lived alone were often exterminated.

Therefore, the Portal Manor had a hint of a fortress when it was first built - there were many trenches and walls, and the solid stone mansion was completely the main castle.

Seeing the master coming back, the tenant farmers guarding the gate of the manor hurriedly lowered the drawbridge.

Potal ran into the manor without stopping, and the suspension bridge slowly rose again.

Compared to other villages and towns that had become dilapidated due to military disasters, Portal Manor was actually a prosperous scene.

The wasteland and farmland around the manor have all been reclaimed, and the wheat seedlings have grown luxuriantly.

As early as when tenant farmers and hired workers in other villages and towns fled, Potal joined forces with the manor owners of Shovel Harbor to control the landless farmers in this town.

Later, he gathered refugees from other places and distributed food. He was respectfully called "Mr. Potar, the great good man" by the refugees.

Portal spared no effort in driving and galloped all the way back to the gate of the castle-like mansion. He asked his eldest son with all his face, "Where is Mr. Alpha?"

"Upstairs." Portal's eldest son replied hastily.

Portal threw the reins to his son, rushed into the mansion, and ran all the way up to the small living room on the second floor.

There was no one else in the small living room, only a young man.

The young man was leaning against the window, reading a letter. He was wearing a light green hunting suit, with a simple small sword hanging from his belt.

Just looking at the facial features, the young man's appearance is not handsome.

But his smile is so friendly that people unconsciously feel good about him. In addition, he has a good figure - long fingers, strong and well-proportioned limbs.

Portal's little daughter and several young maids were already fascinated by this "Mr. Alpha".

Seeing Portal hurried up to the second floor, Mr. Alpha put away the letter and said with a smile: "Tomorrow night, another ship of weapons and gunpowder will be delivered to Shovel Lake."

Portal was stunned at first, and then ecstatically said: "Great!"

"Can you please send someone to respond?" Mr. Alpha added politely.

Potal was so excited that he forgot the original purpose of coming to Mr. Alpha. He patted his chest and promised: "Your Excellency, please don't worry, I will take him there myself!"

"Is there anything going on over there in Gevaudin?" asked Mr. Alpha.

Potal woke up from a dream and hurriedly took out a wad of crumpled paper from his arms: "The rebels sent three notices."

Portal tried to unfold the notice, but his fingers were too clumsy and he tore a large gash inadvertently. It was Mr. Alpha who took over and flattened the three crumpled pieces of paper.

"This...how is it written like this..." Mr. Alpha couldn't help but laugh out loud after reading through the notice: "How is it written like this?"

Portal immediately agreed: "It shows that the rebels are unpopular and they are all illiterate scoundrels."

In fact, for Portal, he thought the notice was well written. At least even a rough guy like him who only knew basic vocabulary could understand it.

"The rebels may be unpopular, but they are not illiterate scoundrels." Mr. Alpha corrected him. He tapped his finger on the window sill, narrowed his eyes, and asked, "Do you think what the rebel leader said is true?"

"Which thing? Letting cattle and horses eat wheat seedlings?" Potal sneered disdainfully: "Unheard of."

"The Hurds are coming again."

"Well... it may be true. This winter is indeed not as cold as in previous years. But it may also be false... Who knows?"

Mr. Alpha thought for a moment and nodded: "The rebel leader wants each village and town to form a militia. We just use the militia as a cover to organize and train the refugees. As for the beacon towers, we can set up some. Since the Hud people may come again, we must prepare Just a moment. Send someone to deliver a message to Gévaudan, asking the rebels for weapons and food, and tell them that the militia needs them."

"Can the rebels give it?"

“It’s good if you can give it, but it doesn’t matter if you don’t.”

"Okay." Portal nodded vigorously.

"Go ahead."

Portal saluted, turned and left.

Mr. Alpha looked out the window and let out a barely audible sigh.

…

At the same time, at the town hall of Blackwater Town, more than a hundred kilometers away, the messenger cavalry was delivering Winters's handwritten letter and three notices to Lieutenant Bader.

Bud opened the lacquer seal, read the letter carefully, and then read the notice line by line.

He also sighed heavily.

During this time, he has been traveling between farms, dealing with various major and minor matters.

His place is even more lacking in people than Winters' place, and he has to handle almost everything by himself.

He not only manages the distribution of agricultural tools, livestock, seeds and other means of production, but also supervises and inspects the autumn plowing conditions on each farm.

In less than a month, several armed fights broke out between the resettled refugees and local farmers. It was all thanks to him that he rushed to mediate and adjudicate the matter as soon as possible, so that the conflict did not intensify further.

The weather is getting colder and colder, and the farms need to repair their houses and harvest fuel, and he still has to make arrangements.

Bard was getting almost visibly tired and even starting to look older.

Seeing that the farms were gradually getting back on track, he was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief and take a good rest, but...

There is no point in thinking too much, and Bud calmly accepts the reality. After gathering his emotions, he opened the window and called loudly to the ponyboy.

Angelou, who was brushing Red Mane in the backyard, heard the sound and ran into the town hall, still holding the brush in his hand.

"Collect the horses sent to the farms again."

"Collect them?" Angelou didn't know why. "Didn't you say that the horses should be kept in various farms for the winter?"

Bud handed the letter and notice to Angelou. He felt sad, but his tone was calm: "After harvesting it, place it on the farm nearby in Blackwater Town. Let the horses go to eat the wheat seedlings. I will allocate some more concentrate to you. .”

Although Angelou was learning to read during this period, he still had some difficulty reading letters. Only after reading the notice did he understand what had happened.

"Time is too tight." Angelou said bitterly: "The horse can't gain much fat."

"As much as you can, call Ish over."

Angelou raised his hand in salute and ran out to saddle Red Mane.

After a while, Ish, sweating profusely, walked into the town hall.

"You called me?" Ish was chopping firewood. Knowing that the lieutenant was looking for him, he hurried over.

"Gather the adult men from each farm and prepare weapons." Bud said solemnly, "We have to defend ourselves."

[Thanks to book friends for their collection, reading, subscription, recommendation votes, monthly votes, rewards and comments, thank you all]

[The next chapter... no, the next chapter... I don’t dare to predict it anymore, it’s just a flag]

[If winter wheat grows too well before winter, you really need to grind the seedlings]

[As for the cows and sheep lying on the ground, there is also a limerick: The beginning of winter comes and the ground is covered with frost, and the clean ground is bare and the stones are cold. The wild geese went south without a trace, and only cattle and sheep were seen in the fields]

[Quote from "Tonight News": After the wheat is sown in autumn, with a little heat, some roots will be planted to grow small wheat seedlings. In winter, they need to be properly crushed. There are many functions of rolling wheat seedlings. On the one hand, after rolling in the seedling stage, the growth of the above-ground parts is inhibited, promoting the growth of tillers, causing early and frequent tillers, and the wheat seedlings will grow strong. This not only increases the number of effective tillers, but also thickens and shortens the basal internode, which is beneficial to its growth. On the other hand, the underground part strengthens the role of soil capillaries, the root system is fully grown, the root system is developed, and it plays the role of squatting seedlings and strengthening stalks, thus improving the resistance to lodging. Furthermore, when rolling, the soil clods are crushed, soil cracks are bridged, the root system is closely integrated with the soil, and the gaps in the soil are reduced. It has the functions of retaining water, fertilizer, warmth, and anti-freeze. In addition, the time for differentiation of young wheat seedlings after rolling is extended, which is conducive to the formation of large ears and an increase in the number of grains. ]