Iron Powder and Spellcasters

   Chapter 133 Two Guards

   The words of the old friar made Winters quite shocked. He asked back: "Then the Highland Republic is now sitting on the crater?"

"Almost, at least the new land is like this." Brother Reid did not refute: "Plato does not suppress annexation, and a few people control the majority of the land. The rich are in the fields, and this is the case with the Mitchells; the poor have no In the land of the cones, even tenant farmers can’t be successful, they can only be long-term workers. Landlords are greedy and suppress the poor to cultivate wasteland in order to grab more land. If it were in the Far East, the world would have been in chaos. In my opinion, there is only one reason why there is no civil revolt in this place. It's just a 'large area and sparsely populated'."

   "Old guy, aren't you alarmist." Winters couldn't help defending the Mitchells: "You say the landlords are greedy, but I think the Mitchells are good people."

The old monk said calmly: "Girard is indeed a generous person, but his character has nothing to do with the desires of the entire landlord group. It's like there are good and bad soldiers, but on the battlefield, no matter whether it is good or bad, You have to kill the enemy. Take each landlord's family out individually, and most of them are above average. But is it fake that they annexed the land?"

   In terms of sharp words and eloquence, how can a fledgling second lieutenant be an opponent of a senior clergyman.

   But Winters was always a little unconvinced: "But if these things can exist to this day, doesn't it mean that there is no problem?"

"Boy, it's not 'existing' to this day, it's 'maintaining' to this day! Politics is not a rock, politics is a building block, and it has never been immutable." Brother Reid smiled even more: "No one knows what will happen in the future. Everything has an end, there is no immortal monarch, no immortal country. To be honest, I really want to see where this system will go in the end.”

   Winters sighed, and the old magician in front of him became rambunctious again, and he was already used to it. But the reason why he came to see the monk at night was actually something else, but he was accidentally distracted by the old magician.

   "Enough." Winters complained: "I came to ask you what you think of the standing police team in Wolf Town, but you didn't mention the business, and you told me a lot of things that were not relevant."

   "I mentioned you because I look down on you." Brother Reid said angrily: "Boy, don't know what to do, the old man's time is very precious."

   Winters' original idea was not to disband the militia and maintain weekly training. However, the idea of ​​Mayor Mitchell took a big step on this basis, making Second Lieutenant Montagne somewhat hesitant.

   If it is in Hailan, Winters can go to Antonio to discuss any doubts. It is not embarrassing for him to ask the elders.

  There is no one he can rely on in Langtun Town, Bud and Andre are both dozens of kilometers away. But he also wanted to hear other people's thoughts on it, preferably objective, neutral thoughts.

  Thinking about it, he could only ask Brother Reid's opinion. After all, the old monk lived for ninety-five years (self-proclaimed) and still accumulated some wisdom - which Winters had to admit, and the old monk was a third party with no interest.

   "Alright, alright, you've also drunk the wine, let's get down to business. Is it really feasible to organize a standing security team in this small place like Wolf Tun?" Winters glanced at the bottomed wine bottle on the table. It's hard to ask empty-handed, so Winters brought a bottle of wine to the door. Unexpectedly, the old begging monk would get excited and start talking.

   "Yes!" Brother Reid spread his hands: "It seems that I said everything in vain before."

"What's the meaning?"

   "Do you have to make it clear before you can understand?" Brother Reid said helplessly: "Of course it is feasible. In the small place of Wolf Tun, if Gillard supports it, and you support it, it will definitely be done."

   "I think Wolf Town is too small to support full-time soldiers." Winters expressed his concerns: "Forcibly establishing a security guard, is it adding a burden to the people?"

"That's not up to you. Let Girard be in charge of the money, and you can be in charge." Reverend Reid disagreed: "The military book says that fifteen men can support one soldier. You and Girard are two people. If we cooperate and organize a small team to capture Kuai, wouldn’t we be able to capture them? If we can’t support full-time soldiers, then they will be half-agricultural and half-soldiers.”

   "Won't there be an objection?"

   "Who dares to object?" The old monk raised his eyebrows: "What do the security team do?"

   Winters suddenly remembered the Veneta Standing Army, which was always more internal than when externally. He was a little disillusioned: "Okay, let's do as Mayor Mitchell wants."

   "No! You have to do it as you wish." Reverend Reid stroked his beard and said unhurriedly: "The key to the guard is the selection of candidates. It must not be in the hands of others. You must choose it yourself."

"why?"

   "Then you might as well think about it, what will happen if you let Girard recommend and select people?" The old monk chuckled.

After   Winters thought for a while, he tentatively answered, "They're all from Dusa?"

"That's right, if Gillard is asked to select people, then the security team must be all Dousa people." Reid sneered: "The Dousa people are brave and fierce, and their equestrian skills are superb, even if it is a fair selection, no farmer can compare. They? But you are not the resident officer of Dusa Village, you are the resident officer of the entire Langtun. The structure of the security team must be balanced, otherwise the other villages will not be convinced."

   What the old magician said was really reasonable, and Winters nodded thoughtfully: "Then what should we do? Choose one person from each village?"

"Yes, just choose one person from each village." Brother Reid gave Winters a gratified look: "You can choose two or three from the Dusa village, so that the Dusa people will not be able to gossip. Everyone It will not be satisfied, but everyone can accept it, and this is the mystery of politics.”

   This kind of calculation made Winters very boring, and he sighed: "Mr. Reed, I have one more thing I want to ask you."

   Winters then retells Sergey's speech at the funeral, detailing the different reactions of Dusa and other villagers.

   "What the **** does Sergey mean? Who is Ralvnovich?" Winters asked. "He seems to say only a few compliments. Why are the other Dusa people so surprised?"

   "Why do you care about the Dusa people?" Brother Reid raised his eyebrows.

   "Ralph entrusted me to take care of his son before he died." It was still a little sad to mention the old hunter Winters: "I have to figure out what Sergey means and whether he is malicious to Bell."

   "That's right." Brother Reid also sighed: "Ralph is indeed a rare hero, it's a pity."

The old friar stroked his long beard a few times, frowned and said: "Don't worry, Sergey should have good intentions. Ralph Novich means Ralph's son, he wants to let Ralph's son restore Dudu. Sack's identity."

   "What do you mean? Isn't Bell a Dusa? Half a Dusa?" Winters entered the blind spot of knowledge.

"Dussa and Dussack, these are two concepts." Brother Reid explained while leaning on the table: "The Dussas are not exactly a race, but a way of life. People who follow a certain way of life are The Dusa people, their bloodline can be said to be a mess, and their ancestors are even more diverse.

   And not every Dussack is a Dussack, Ralph should have been deprived of his identity as a Dussac, so he could not live in the village of Dussacs. Lao Tzu is not Dussac, so naturally his son cannot be Dussac. Sergey wants to restore the Dussack status of Ralph's son, which is a good thing for Little Bell. "

"why?"

   "Because Dussack's identity is linked to the land." Brother Reid asked in return, "Do you know the land grant system?"

   "Uh...don't know."

Brother Rhett's body became stiff after sitting for too long. He stood up and paced and said: "In the empire on the other side of the Shady Mountains, Dussac is known as the 'Emperor's Whip'. Their way of life is extremely special, Every Tussak male was born destined to serve for life, and he had to prepare his own horses. As a reward, the emperor would grant them rich land, enough to make them rich peasants and small landlords.

The    Emperor gave Dussak land, so he ordered Dussac to kill anyone, and Dussac would kill him without any hesitation. Therefore, most of the time Dussac was used to suppress the rebellion. They were never soft in killing farmers, so they were called "whip". This is the grant system. "

   Winters nodded as he listened: "Then how can they farm for life? What's the use of giving them land?"

"Lifetime service does not mean lifelong service in the army." The old monk said with a smile: "The system of granting land is a very complicated system. Dussac will serve for six years in one term, and then he can go home to grant fields. Some years and then a second term of military service for three years. Lifetime military service means being on the roster forever and being called up at any time.”

   Winters whispered "Oh".

Brother Reid pondered and continued: "The problem is that Dussak's settlement is within the empire, and the Dussas are all citizens of the empire. Although I don't know how this group of Dussas came to Palatu... but As far as I know, the Palatine Council treats them in the same way as the Emperor, exchanging land for loyalty. So for this group of Dusa people, it is nothing more than a change of master to hold the whip, and there is no difference. .

   And the men who serve for life among the Dussas are called Dussacs - women are naturally not Dussacs. Only Dussac can serve, grant land, and start a family. Dussack's identity is an obligation and a right. Sergey wants Ralph's son to serve, grant land, and return to the village of Dussac. Good thing for that kid, don't worry. "

   Winters is most worried about the little hunter being embarrassed by the local snake. Winters breathed a sigh of relief now that he understood that Sergey had good intentions for Bell.

  It was a little late, and Winters said goodbye to Rhett.

  …

  …

   For the next few days, Winters and Girard focused their attention on household affairs.

  Wolf Town's wounds are gradually healing. Life still has to go on, people gradually stop taking the initiative to mention the victims, it seems that the pain can be forgotten in this way.

  The beast disaster has gradually evolved from the vivid memory in people's minds to the faded stories in the old people's mouth. Winters sees all these in his eyes.

   He visited every family of the deceased, experienced indifference and hatred, and was grateful. He can never make up for the trauma of the death of his relatives, and he can only do everything he can to comfort the families of the dead and wounded.

   In contrast, the task of organizing a standing militia is much simpler and easier.

   Winters, as a town officer, changed Sunday archery training to militia training.

  The men from each village go to the town center in the morning to attend Sunday services, and receive military training at noon and in the afternoon.

  Because the original intention was to prevent animal disasters, not to let the militia go to the battlefield. Therefore, the training subjects formulated by Winters do not include content such as queues and squares. It's just simple weapon use training, plus some tactical training for beasts summarized by Winters.

  The old hunter is gone, and Winters originally wanted the militia to patrol the woodlands near the village once a week.

   But he considers that patrolling and standing guard are the jobs that require the most perseverance, and the militia will definitely not be able to persist in the long run. So he could only instruct the militiamen who went into the mountains to collect firewood to pay more attention to the situation in the woods.

  The preparations for the security guard were smoother, because Winters accidentally discovered that the money thing was not a problem at all.

   Because Langtun Town has a permanent population of less than ten, it is an unquestionable "town" in terms of procedures. Therefore, after a village is established as a town, 20% of the taxes collected each year will be used as the financial funds of the town government.

   And the mayor of Wolf Town is amazingly clean. Winters has never seen such a clean public servant as Gilad Mitchell in his life.

   Mayor Mitchell eats and lives in his own house, rides his own horses, and owns his own fodder. Even the clerk is served by Pan Weiqie, the housekeeper brought by Mrs. Mitchell when she gets married.

   Aside from hiring farmers from several surrounding villages to repair the dirt roads in winter, Gillard has been the mayor for more than ten years and has no other place to spend money.

   Oh, except for one more recent expense - the scribe's salary to Brother Rhett.

  Pan Weiqie, the housekeeper, scribe and accountant, kept the accounts very neatly, and the use and surplus of the town government’s funds were clear at a glance.

   The surplus accumulated over the years has become a considerable sum of money, which is more than enough to buy a small arsenal. Winters didn't intend to make the security guard too big, a ten-man team seemed a bit too much to him.

  [Note: There are only eight people in the ten-man team, and the ten-man team is a customary name]

   What's more, as a "tax official" in essence, Mayor Mitchell theoretically has the power to levy an additional "police tax" from the people of Wolf Town.

   But in view of the good financial situation of Wolf Town, there is no need to resort to this strategy for the time being.

   After Winters and the village chiefs of the five villages discussed and understood respectively, the matter of the security guards in Langtun Town was quickly settled.

  Langtun Town has five villages under its jurisdiction, and Winters will select one person from each village as a part-time guard.

  Part-time guards also have a salary, they are not full-time, as long as they are needed to provide services. For example, to help maintain order on Sundays.

  On weekdays, part-time guards still live in the village like other farmers, and are responsible for the daily security of each village.

   Winters will choose a few more people as full-time full-time guards. The candidates for full-time guards are not limited to a certain village. Winters decides with one word.

   Combined full-time and part-time, the total number of guards does not exceed one ten-man [eight], i.e. a maximum of three full-time guards.

   As the old magician said: everyone is not satisfied, but everyone can accept it. So in the end no one objected to Winters.

   Winters actually felt that the three full-time guards were a bit too many, because he was usually in the town hall. With a caster officer in charge, there was actually no need for any guards at all, and Lieutenant Montagne could do it all by himself.

   Even considering that he will return to Veneta one day, one or two full-time guards in the town will suffice, and Winters already has a very suitable candidate.

  …

   "Me? You want me to be a guard in the town?" Stableman Anglo's eyes widened, and the bruises on his face still haven't subsided. The half-sized boy shouted in a hoarse voice, "Sir, don't make fun of me!"

"I'm not kidding." Winters patted the pony on the shoulder. "You can't keep doing it, can you? Being a guard won't stop you from giving fields. You can do it in town until you're twenty. Years old, you can continue to work after returning from one term of service. I have made an agreement with Mayor Mitchell, and I will keep this position for you. "

   Winters had always liked this little stablemate who knew the nature of horses very much, because this kid always reminded him of Bud. Not to mention that the pony herdsman saved his life in the first battle of the bear hunt, which made him want to find a chance to express his gratitude.

  Anglo looked down at his toes, and hummed softly, "Actually...actually, I just like being a horse herd."

   "Huh?" Winters wondered, "Why?"

   According to Brother Reid, the status of the stables in the Dusa society is not high, and most of the time it is the punished Dusaq or the unplayable Dusa men who are assigned to be the stables.

"Because I can ride as a horseman, and I'm happy enough to be able to ride a horse." Anglo snorted softly: "I don't have a war horse myself, if I'm not a horseman, I won't be able to ride a horse, so I don't want to be a guard in the town. ."

   Winters smiled: "Boy, is it enough to be able to ride a horse?"

   "Enough." The stable shrug.

   Winters thought for a while and decided to persuade the pony herder in a different way: "You Dussacs serve to prepare your own horses, right?"

   "When I'm on errands, I'll give you a sum of money to buy horses." Anglo replied in a low voice.

   "Is that money enough to buy a war horse?"

  Angelo lowered his head, his voice even lower: "Not enough."

   "Then what do you do? You don't have a warhorse, you don't have equipment, you can't go..." Winters paused for a while: "...I'm on duty, can you still get the land?"

  Anglo stopped talking, half the eldest child was immature, and he was almost crying after being uttered by a few words.

Winters hit the railroad while it was hot: "You don't get paid to be a horseman, but you get paid for your job in town. You can save up your salary for a job in town, although you can't ride casually for the time being. But when you're twenty years old, At that time, the money you saved plus the money for buying horses should be enough to buy a warhorse, and you can go on duty. When you get back from the first term of service and receive the land, then you will be the real Dussack. own land, war horses, family..."

  Anglo cried out with a "wow", nodded and agreed to go to the town for "work".

   "Why are you crying, kid?" Winters rubbed the pony's hair helplessly: "It's not like I won't let you get on the saddle anymore, I can lend you Red Mane to ride."

  "My mother..." Anglo sobbed: "...When my mother died, she was looking forward to me becoming a Dussack. I thought I would never be a Dussack..."

   Winters was also a little sad. He squeezed the pony's shoulder and said nothing.

"And...sir..." Anglo wiped two tears hard: "Don't be too tired to Ryzhik, take good care of it. There will be no more terezins, and the only stallion in the village will be Lei next year. Rik... but you don't cherish it at all..."

"I don't cherish Red Mane..." Winters was so angry that he laughed, and slapped the pony's head on the head: "Then Red Mane will take care of you after that, and you will raise horses for me when you arrive in town! "

   Winters only intends to arrange two full-time guards in the town, Anglo the pony has a position, and he has already decided on the other person.

  The little hunter Bell was brought to the town by Winters from the hut in the woods and became the second official guard of the Wolftun Town Guard.

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   (end of this chapter)