Iron Powder and Spellcaster

Tiefeng County, Jevaudan.

"There is no pass." Ivan repeated this sentence countless times, and he was getting tired of it: "No one can leave."

The stopped carriage contained a family of four and all the family's soft property. The rather wealthy man drove the carriage himself, while the woman hid her children in the carriage.

The news spread faster than the plague. The knight on the white horse with the bow had not yet arrived in Gevaudan, but everyone knew that there was a plague in Saint-Que.

It is helpless to say that when the war broke out, the civilians of Tiefeng County rushed to Gevaudan in fear to seek shelter; and when the plague came one after another, people were eager to escape from the crowded city.

"Hey, I left in a hurry and didn't have time to apply for a pass." The male host smiled flatteringly, and nimbly stuffed Ivan with a bulging small leather bag with his stubby fingers: "It's convenient, sir."

The bag is hard, like coins to the touch.

Ivan couldn't help but sigh. It was impossible not to be tempted, Aksinya and the child were still counting on him.

Since preparations for the war began, prices in Gévaudan have only risen, not fallen. Although flour is rationed, Ivan’s family hasn’t seen meat or fish for a long time.

"Sir." Ivan did not take the leather bag, because his mouth and nose were covered with a triangle scarf, and his voice was a little muffled: "Although I don't know your name, your family should be quite rich..."

The fat male host felt a thump in his heart, and it seemed that being brutally killed was inevitable.

But being under the eaves, he had to lower his head, but he still smiled: "My name is Ivan, sir, Ivan Asta."

"Oh? Your name is Ivan too."

"So...we have the same name?" The male host tried his best to cater to the other party: "What a coincidence, what a coincidence."

"Mr. Asta." Ivan's words were interrupted, and his train of thought also stopped. He was silent for a moment, and spent a lot of effort to organize his words: "You look like a rich man, maybe a learned person. If you were walking on the street on weekdays, you wouldn't look at me seriously. , am I right?"

The male host became more and more confused, and he yelled: "Oh, brother Ivan...where do you want to go?"

"But now you take out the money and give it to me." Ivan ignored the other person and continued: "You do this because you think I am a powerful person. At least now, I have the power to let you go Let’s go. Is that right?”

"Huh?" A simple bribe suddenly escalated into a philosophical debate, and the male host couldn't wrap his mind around it for a while.

"Actually, I have no power at all. Only the tribune has the power to let you go, and I only have the power to stop you. Now that I have collected your money, I will be hanged before sunrise tomorrow." All the thoughts in his mind poured out. Ivan let out a long sigh and looked at the other party expectantly: "You are asking me to exercise power that I don't have... Do you understand what I mean?"

For this family, it was the first time they met Ivan and the first time they tried to bribe him.

But for Ivan, this is the "number of times" he has faced the money bags stuffed into him. The two parties therefore formed an unequal relationship.

Ivan's words were his vent against all bribers and the result of his thinking - the reason to convince himself not to take bribes.

The male host was in a fog. He just wanted to give the other party some money, but he was lectured inexplicably.

The male host stared at Ivan suspiciously for a while and asked in a low voice: "Do you want to add money?"

"No." Ivan said expressionlessly, "No one can leave without a pass."

…

At the same time, on the road between Gevaudan and Kingsbridge, a group of cavalry was trying to dissuade a group of refugees.

There were only twelve cavalrymen, but there were hundreds of refugees.

"There is a plague in Gévaudan!" The young cavalry leader blocked the middle of the road, waved his arms, and shouted with all his strength in a childish voice: "Go back! Everyone!"

The refugees did not dare to attack the cavalry, but no one was willing to leave just yet.

During the stalemate, an old man walked out of the crowd tremblingly with a long staff, begging: "Master! If there is no other way, who would be willing to leave their hometown! We didn't see the plague, but starvation is real. The barbarians have robbed and burned all the food in Zhuangzi. We really can’t stand it anymore. Master! Please show mercy and let us go!"

A skinny mother also walked out of the crowd, holding her infant baby in her arms, and cried to the cavalry.

The crowd that originally did not dare to move became restless, and the refugees took steps toward the cavalry.

"Please listen to me!" the young cavalry leader shouted: "The relief food will be here soon!"

However, the noisy hoofbeats and cries covered the young cavalryman's voice. No one heard what he said, and no one cared what he said.

The young cavalry gritted his teeth and waved, and the twelve cavalrymen turned around, raised their whips, and left.

"They retreated!" the crowd cheered.

Immediately someone exclaimed: "They're here again!"

I saw twelve cavalrymen lined up in a horizontal line. The adjacent cavalrymen were close to each other as if they were connected by iron cables, and they beat the refugees with an overwhelming momentum.

Before the cavalry could rush closer, the crowd's forward momentum was curbed and destroyed.

Because of hunger, the mother holding the baby had no strength to run. She turned around, turned her back to the hooves, and held the child in her arms.

The expected tragic scene of horse hoofs crushing human bones did not happen, and the cavalry steadily stationed their horses outside the crowd.

The fleeing refugees gradually stopped. The young cavalry leader rode forward and took off his helmet, revealing a face that was physically immature but mature and calm.

"Please listen to me." Angelou repeated what he just said clearly: "The relief food will be here soon."

This time everyone heard clearly.

The refugees gathered together again, and Angelo quickly checked the crowd: not injured, not injured, broken arm, not injured...

Then he saw a ragged middle-aged man sitting on the ground, his expression painful and twisted. A middle-aged woman and several children of different ages were anxiously surrounding the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man did not make any sound, but large beads of sweat continued to appear on his forehead.

Angelou felt a pain in his heart, and he softly called to the old Dusak beside him: "Baran Timojevich?"

In the cavalry, old Dussac [Balan] was half a medic. The old man sighed, dismounted and walked towards the injured middle-aged man.

To be honest, old Balan doesn't care about the life and death of the peasants. His character still has the cruelty that was deliberately cultivated by Dusak as the "Emperor's Whip".

But when Balaam heard the company commander use the honorific title of "birth name and father's name", he knew that the little baby had softened his heart again.

"Sir." The old man who was the first to stand up came to Angruma and mustered up the courage to ask: "Is the relief... really there? When can it come?"

"I'm not an adult." Angelou comforted the other party and said, "Don't worry, it's not a lie. Tribune Montagne has ordered the allocation of military rations to be distributed to everyone. It should be..."

With that said, Angelou turned and looked back.

At the end of the road, above the hills, a carriage crept slowly over the horizon, then another, and more behind it.

A conspicuous red flag was placed on each carriage.

"Already arrived." Angelou replied.

…

Any place where life gathers is naturally a breeding ground for disease.

The wealthy people who had previously flocked to various towns because of the war were now trying hard to leave.

The poor, driven by hunger, began to gather in various towns, forming a second wave of people.

The reason is simple: if there is a lack of safety, people will crowd towards safe places; if there is a lack of food, people will go where there is food.

Winters stopped the flow of people entering the city - the more people there were, the harder it was to control the plague.

On the other hand, he wanted to stop the flow of people leaving the city - if people were allowed to leave, the plague would likely spread to all parts of Tiefeng County.

But some people were leaving, and Winters couldn't interfere - Colonel Geza and the hussars were also leaving.

This time the troops were dispatched, the Terdun Department was divided into left and right wings. Although the right wing was crushed in Tiefeng County, the left wing is still raging in Wargne County.

The right wing of Terdun is mainly composed of direct descendants of the Roaring Firemen, while the left wing is composed of vassal tribes from outside.

This division is of course due to the selfishness of those who are warming the fire. However, this also resulted in Terdun not having a clear core of command, and the big and small leaders acted independently, which made it more difficult to deal with.

After the main battle of [Winters-Firekeeper], Colonel Gesa was originally planning to go to Wargne County immediately.

The reason why I stayed until now was to wait for someone.

When the travel-stricken Major Ronald and his entourage finally arrived at Gevaudan, Colonel Geza, who was already extremely impatient with the waiting, was about to leave.

Winters did not want to let the Hussars leave because he was worried that the [Aichen Plague] that had just been controlled would be carried away.

But the problem happens to be here.

[The Aichen Plague] had just spread on a small scale in the slum area, and was noticed by Father Carman, who was then tightly restrained by Winters.

So much so that this "plague" seems like a harmless joke: not many people died, but the response was so brutal. Is it an overreaction?

The reason for the hussars to leave was extremely good. After all, the battle was not over yet, and Wargne County needed them.

Apart from epidemic prevention, Winters had no reason to force the hussars to stay. And the reason for epidemic prevention itself is not convincing in the eyes of the other party.

So in the end, Winters had to see off the reinforcements.

…

Q: How do you differentiate between Platonians and Venetians?

Answer: Look at the beard.

The Platoans regard beards as a form of beauty, as if the thicker the beard, the more masculine they are.

Venetians, on the contrary, have clean upper lips, lower jaws, and cheeks. Veneta people do not need to take a bath, but their beards must be shaved, otherwise they will always feel uncomfortable.

Even in the Republic of Veneta, there is such a rigid rule written into law: Veneta public officials and businessmen stationed in overseas colonies and trading countries must shave.

The reason why there is such a strange law is entirely to "distinguish between you and me."

In other words, Veneta people not only do not intend to integrate into other countries, but also have a deep fear of being "melted" by other countries. Forced shaving therefore becomes a disguised form of identification.

As long as a discerning person sees the few young men without beards at the farewell scene, they will roughly know where they come from.

The farewell party was not large in scale, and only a few of Gévaudin's leading figures were invited to accompany him.

According to the custom of the Plato people, it is always appropriate to have a feast and feast for three days and three nights after winning a battle.

However, Tiefeng County had limited conditions and special circumstances, so everything was kept simple, and Colonel Gesa did not find fault with Winters.

Seeing Junior Ronald who was still alive, Gesa was filled with emotion and hugged Junior and kissed him hard on the spot.

Yes, a solid kiss.

"Kissing", the main way for the Platons to express intense emotions such as excitement, joy, reunion after a long separation, long live friendship, etc., can also be done between men.

Face to face, lips to lips, it is unknown whether there was any exchange of saliva.

There shouldn’t be—right?

Andre looked at the senior Platts who were kissing passionately with disgust, and asked Winters worriedly: "They won't want to kiss us too, right?"

Winters' mind was filled with all the chores of epidemic prevention. He looked up and replied without emotion: "No, kissing is an intimate act, and they are hostile to us."

Andre looked around. Ronald and other former Tiefeng County officers reunited with Colonel Gesa and his entourage. The scene was very warm and touching. A group of adult men hugged and kissed, and some even cried.

In contrast, Winters and Andre feel vaguely isolated despite being among the crowd. No one talked to them, and no one came to hold them and kiss them.

Andre snorted softly, picked up the wine glass and took a sip: "I finally know why Lieutenant Colonel Moritz and Bud are unwilling to come."

"The identities of Lieutenant Colonel and Senior Juan are still being kept secret. Senior Mason and Bud are too busy with things to get away from." Winters answered mechanically. He also took a sip of the liquid in the wine glass, which had a slightly bitter taste. It brought him back from the world of epidemic prevention.

Winters changed the topic and touched Andre's beer glass: "The key is - in this kind of fatal situation, besides you, who else can I count on?"

Andre snorted again and touched Winters' beer glass.

After drinking up the golden liquid in the glass in one go, Andre burped and complained softly: "Does this deserve to be called beer? It has no taste at all."

Winters suddenly had a strange feeling. He seemed to be back in the Navy and Blue Army Officers Club, sitting with Andre on the window sill facing the square on the north side of the second floor, blowing in the air and drinking beer.

Winters took a sip and said, "Yeah."

Andre raised his eyebrows and tilted his head to look at Winters: "Why are you laughing?"

"Did I laugh?" Winters touched his cheek.

"You don't know yet?"

Winters thought for a moment: "Then I'm not laughing."

Andre sneered and poured himself another glass of light golden liquid.

Since it was a farewell party for the Platoans, how could it be done without drinks?

But Tiefeng County is even short of food, let alone drinks. The old widow Allen's wine cellar has long been empty. Maybe some people still have a few bottles of wine, but they are just wines and other drinks.

In the end, it was the pudgy representative of Niuti Valley who came up with an idea: mash dry bread, soak it, boil it, add koji, and ferment it...

Finally, the filter results in a strange liquid that looks like beer but is not beer.

According to Mr. Pumpy Representative, in the army of General János, when the soldiers had no wine to drink, they would make "fermented water" made from bread to satisfy their hunger.

That is what everyone was drinking at the farewell party.

Winters didn't like the taste of wine very much, but he liked this strange liquid that had no "alcoholic" taste.

Two Venetians stood among a group of eagerly chatting Platons, silently drinking glass after glass of fermented water.

A fat gentleman walked through the crowd and walked directly in front of the two of them.

The fat man took off his hat, bent slightly and smiled brightly: "Captain Montagne, Lieutenant Cellini."

"Mr. Leo." Winters nodded, poured a glass of fermented water and handed it to the other party, and asked calmly: "How is it?"

Mr. Leo, the plenipotentiary representative of the Navarre Merchant Company, took the wine glass and held it in his hand without drinking: "It's settled."

"Is everything settled?"

Mr. Leo put away his smile: "Please don't worry."

Winters breathed a sigh of relief.

"What's going on?" Andre was confused. He looked at Winters and then at Mr. Leo: "What are you talking about? Who are you talking to?"

Andre returned to Gevaudan with Ronald and others and missed many meetings.

When he heard Andre's question, Winters was confused and didn't know how to explain it.

"Can I explain to Lieutenant Cellini?" Mr. Leo volunteered.

"Excuse me." Winters was of course happy.

"Lieutenant Cellini, you should know about the wool textile industry in Venetta." Mr. Leo shook out the cashmere clothing on his body: "On one side is us, the Veneta people. The Navarre Trading Company has a batch of wool that needs to be shipped back to Veneta. Neta and General Serbetti also have a group of war horses that need to be transported back to Veneta, and Captain Montagne needs to send food to Tiefeng County. On the other side are the Palatuan people, who control the roads and food..."

"Okay, I understand." Andre was dizzy and interrupted impatiently: "It's just the old man, the wolf, the sheep and the turnip!"

[Shamefully out of context...≡(▔﹏▔)≡]

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