Iron Powder and Spellcaster

Gévaudin.

While the hussars were reorganizing, Colonel Scull strolled along the St. George River for a final inspection of this familiar yet unfamiliar city.

The stone road was shrouded in light blue smoke, piles of pine branches and mugwort were burning in the middle of the street, and the air was filled with a strange fragrance - it was said that this could drive away the plague.

Huge logs kept passing through the curtain of smoke and drifting down from the upper reaches.

The logs were pulled to the shore by boatmen, and the men holding sharp axes had been waiting for a long time. Branches are chopped into firewood, and the thick trunks are sent to the rumbling hydraulic sawmill.

Wood is needed to rebuild homes and fuel is needed for heating in the winter.

The rebel government has lifted logging restrictions, and the materials and energy accumulated in the forest over centuries are being released again.

Skull's eyes stayed on the giant waterwheel outside the workshop - while one sawmill was put into use, five more sawmills were being built.

The sound of horse hoofbeats was clear, and Colonel Gesa rode a black horse and quickly came to Skull's side.

"What are you looking at?" Gesa asked.

Skull smelled the aroma of pine wood in the air: "Actually, I don't know too much."

Gesa followed Skull's gaze and couldn't help laughing: "Isn't it just a waterwheel?"

"It's a waterwheel." Scull replied: "It's not just a waterwheel."

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

A dull, rhythmic tremor echoed through the air.

Looking across the river from Gesa, towering wooden towers loomed in the mist.

"Well, it's not just the waterwheel." Gesa smacked his lips: "There's also a pile driver."

On the other side of the river, thousands of ordinary people are doing something very unusual in winter - building houses.

The cold weather made construction difficult, so those people built a large number of construction machinery: tower pile drivers, cranes driven by animal power, mobile cranes...

Those people used giant machines that were used to build churches, fortresses, palaces and other large projects, but the houses they built were ridiculously simple.

What kind of house is that?

The four wooden stakes are nailed to the wooden boards to form the four walls, and then the roof made of the same wooden boards is fastened to complete the building. It's more of a prison than a residence.

At the same time, there was a construction site on the other side.

"Come closer to me!" Mason's voice was already hoarse. He waved his arms widely and directed the crane operator: "Okay! That's it! Put it down! Put it down! Slow down!"

The roof that was hoisted into the air was slowly lowered. After the roof was firmly seated, the carpenter with a small hammer removed the brackets and fixed the roof.

Different from the normal process of building a house of "putting up the beams first and then building the roof", for the houses Mason is responsible for building, the roofs are all built on the ground in advance and then hoisted up with a crane.

The people of Tiefeng County who were stunned at first are now no longer surprised.

If anyone thinks these houses look like prisons – he’s absolutely right!

Because the design of these houses is completely copied from the board houses on the working ranch where Mason once worked.

What's more, in order to further save building materials, these prefabricated houses in Gevaudan also adopt a "row" structure. That is, the house is next to the house, with one wall and two rooms, which greatly saves wood.

You know, even the wooden houses in the working ranch can barely be called "single-family houses." And the wooden houses in Gévaudin were not even as good as the prisoner's wooden houses.

Hailan's townhouses are made of stone. The stone is solid and thick, and has strong sound insulation capabilities.

In the townhouses of Gevaudan, there is only a thin wooden board between the two houses, and there is nothing to separate them except the line of sight.

But the people in Tiefeng County who are building these prefabricated houses can’t wait to move in. Everyone put in a lot of effort and raced against time for intensive construction.

Because except for the women and children who were evacuated to the old city, the vast majority of Tiefeng County people stranded in Jevaudan still only have simple tents that cannot keep out the cold.

And the weather is getting colder day by day.

So aesthetics and comfort are not a consideration yet.

At the construction site, men, women, the elderly, children - construction workers who are not construction workers have a clear and orderly division of labor.

Anyone who has participated in the preparations for Gevaudan can see at a glance that these men, women, and children followed the organizational form of the city building period.

Even when defending a city, "Whoever builds a section of the city wall will defend that section of the city wall." When building a house, it is also "whoever builds a certain section of the city wall will live in that section of the city wall."

Mason, who was coordinating the building project, looked at the busy construction site and suddenly felt a little worried: "This... is probably the most embarrassing work in my life."

"Your Excellency?" [Demon] Anse, who had half of his face covered with horrific birthmarks, noticed something strange and asked, "Are you unhappy? Isn't the project going well?"

"It's easy to build." Mason smacked his lips: "It will be difficult to tear it down in the future."

"Demolish it? Why do you want to demolish it?" Demon Angce's mood was as cold as ever: "But it's not difficult to demolish it. This kind of wooden house can be burned down with just one fire."

Mason smiled bitterly and shook his head. Suddenly something occurred to him, and his expression became horrified: "It's broken! These houses...shouldn't they be called 'Mason Houses' in the future?"

…

"What now?" Geza asked Skull: "Do you still think a colonel uniform can bribe them?"

Skull looked indifferent: "At least now I am sure that Captain Montagne will never be bribed."

…

"Negotiation?" Andre asked Winters: "Can you really trust them?"

"Trust is one thing." Winters sighed: "But I always feel that they can't really accept us."

…

"Then letting them go is like raising tigers?" Gesa frowned.

…

Andre propped his chin and said nonchalantly: "After all, there will still be a battle sooner or later."

…

"Currently, the cost of using force will far exceed what we can accept." Scull looked at the busy figures on the other side of the river and looked at Gesa: "When he distributes the land, things will become more troublesome. .”

…

Winters' mood was a little depressed: "They want to negotiate, so let's negotiate. You also know the current situation in Tiefeng County."

…

"You also know the current situation." Skull said seriously: "No matter what, at least stabilize them first. We must avoid complications that disrupt the 'more important' strategy."

…

"No matter what, if we can bleed less." Winters made up his mind: "It's best if we can bleed less."

…

The hussars were ready to go, and Colonel Scull and Colonel Gesa mounted.

In addition to the original farewell party, many soldiers from Tiefeng County and citizens of Gévaudan came to see him off spontaneously.

Winters held the wine glass steadily and walked slowly in front of the three school officers.

According to Plato tradition, when there is a hostess, "stirrup wine" should be served by the hostess.

However, Winters was determined to personally deliver stirrup wine to the three school officers, so there was no much-loved kissing session with the hostess today.

Winters didn't want to talk about empty rhetoric. He stood in front of the cavalry and raised his hands in a very solemn salute.

In any case, when the Hurd tribes invaded, these Palatine cavalry came to Iron Peak with their sabers, and Winters was grateful to them from the bottom of his heart.

Although it sounds vulgar, sharing the same hatred and hatred is always the fastest way to build comrades-in-arms. We once fought side by side in bloody battles as "comrades", but now we have to say goodbye, it's always a bit reluctant to say goodbye.

Andre was the most excited, and his eyes were a little red. In other words, there is no alcohol in Tiefeng County, so everyone is relatively rational.

If the customs of the Platuan people were strictly followed, both parties would have hugged each other drunkenly and said some strange words with tears and runny noses.

"Okay, okay." Colonel Gesa shuddered: "Don't say any disgusting words, I can't accept it."

"Actually, I still hope you can stay in Tiefeng County for a while."

"Don't worry, how can there be a war without a plague?" When old things were brought up again, Gesa felt helpless: "If people gather too much, they will naturally get sick. When the refugees disperse in a few days, the Aachen Plague will naturally disappear. there is none left."

There have been many conversations about this. I had been unable to convince Colonel Gesar before, and neither could I be persuaded by the few words he said in farewell.

Winters gathered his emotions and nodded: "Thank you."

"You'd better go and thank Colonel Bode." Colonel Gesa grabbed the back of his bare head and spoke quickly: "Besides, we're not here to help you. As for Hurds, no matter what, we want to kill... …It’s all General Adams’s fault. This [interception strategy] is total bullshit! If Tiefeng County is finished, wouldn’t the Hed people just take a detour and return to the wilderness from Tiefeng County? He also intercepted the boundary river in Wargne County. What's the use... We have to come and wipe his butt..."

Colonel Winters left Gesa to defend himself alone, picked up another glass of wine and walked to Major Ronald's horse.

"I'm sorry, Major."

Major Ronald smiled and shook his head, took the glass and drank it in one gulp.

Finally, Winters walked up to Colonel Scull's horse with the wine glass in hand.

Skull took the wine glass, looked at the junior in front of him who was much later than him, let out a long sigh, and left a thousand words in his words: "It would have been better if you had come to Leiqun County..."

Winters said nothing, just nodded in greeting.

…

Behind the window on the second floor of the city hall, a man wearing a mask silently watched the farewell people.

"Just come with us, Moreau." Another lieutenant in a hussar uniform pulled the masked man's sleeve and urged him: "You still have a fiancée waiting for you!"

Captain Moreau was silent.

The hussar captain knew that once his colleague made up his mind, he would be as stubborn as a stone.

The cavalry might leave at any time, and the hussar captain asked anxiously and angrily: "Why on earth do you want to stay here? You have to at least convince me, right?"

"There are many, many people who are driven like slaves by the Herds like me before." Captain Moreau looked at the back of the man who was serving stirrup wine: "That guy said... No, he said he could take us brought back...so I won’t leave here for the time being.”

The hussar captain was speechless. He stamped his foot: "Then you must at least write a letter to Dunya! Let her know that you are still alive!"

Moreau touched the mask unconsciously, and the cold touch of the iron mask returned to his fingertips. He said coldly: "It would be better to let her think I am dead."

…

The sharp bugle sounded, and the majestic hussars rode out of the city. The fighting in the County of Wargne is not over yet, and the hussars will continue to wield their sabers.

However, for the people of Tiefeng County, the departure of the hussars is like some kind of "sign", dividing tomorrow and yesterday into two parts.

Although there are still a small group of Telton people wandering in Lower Tiefeng County, although they still have to guard against enemies from Warne County scurrying into Tiefeng County, and although it is extremely difficult to rebuild their homes, the darkest days are finally over, and people can start to look forward to it. Some good things are coming.

Also leaving with the Palatine hussars was Antonio Serbetti.

Antonio is busy with military affairs and cannot stay in Tiefeng County for a long time.

He came with only a small bodyguard, and left with the same small bodyguard - plus Lieutenant Don Juan.

Don Juan came to Tiefeng County originally to take Winters back to Veneta. But at present, this is an impossible task.

According to Senior Juan himself, the weather in September was not bad, but it is too cold in Plato now, and he is a little homesick...

Respecting Don Juan's own wishes, Winters did not force the senior to stay, and Antonio did not force Lieutenant Juan to stay.

As for Lieutenant Colonel Moritz... After a closed-door conversation with Moritz, Antonio made "personnel adjustments."

Moritz received an oral appointment. In terms of establishment, he is no longer affiliated with the Third "Great Veneta" Legion, but has become a member of the [Veneta Military Advisory Group] - that is, in theory, he will A military entity that will provide aid to the Second Republic of Plato.

Winters didn't realize it yet, but Antonio had already sent his best subordinates to him.

…

Antonio, Senior Juan, Ronald, Geza...many people left at once, and Winters suddenly felt empty and even a little at a loss.

Fortunately, he finally had a lot of time to play with the puppy, brush Changsheng, sleep, and more importantly - stay with Anna.

But Anna... Anna has Anna's worries.

Definitely another chapter for the weekend! I promise! Not FLAG! This chapter is actually from Thursday!

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