Iron Powder and Spellcasters

   Chapter 138 Lieutenant Mason

After   Custer's "unexpected visit", Winters went to Blackwater Town as agreed to meet Bud and Andre.

   This is the first time the three of them have been together since they were dispatched. Long time no see, extraordinarily kind, there are endless things to say.

  Budd tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk twitched around the red mane to look at it, and also raised the red mane four hooves to check it again, and commented: "This horse is very good."

   "You still need to say it?" Andre scolded back with a smile.

   did not spend the night in Heishui Town, Winters and Bud replaced the horses Andre borrowed from Dusa Village in Heishui Town, and the three immediately set off to meet the "senior" mentioned by Bud.

   "Which senior is that?" When taking a break on the road, Andre couldn't help but ask Bud, "Do we know each other?"

   "You two definitely don't know each other, and neither do I. It's my squad leader's squad leader."

   The smallest organizational unit of the Allied Army Officers Academy is the "unit", and each unit will include officers and students of the first, second, and third academic years at the same time.

   Therefore, an officer student in the military academy can have access to students who are two years higher and two years lower than him.

  Langtun Town and Heishui Town are too remote, and it takes more than four days to go back and forth to the county seat of Revodan on horseback. And Gervoudan itself is a frontier city, so Winters and Andre don't have many visitors.

  But the town of St. Christopher (hereafter referred to as St. Ke Town), where Bard is located, is different. The town of St. Ke is located on the main road between the two counties, and the traffic is very convenient.

  The hard-faced Guzhi Road passes through the town, and the troops often pass through the town of Sank when they are mobilized.

   Some of the Palatine seniors who were familiar with Budd heard that the younger brother was assigned to Palatu, or made a special visit or stopped by, and visited him several times.

  So Bud's news is better than Winters and Andre. Second lieutenants Montagne and Cellini are really unfamiliar, and their eyes are smeared.

  Budd learned from the "squad leader" who was in charge of taking him when he was a freshman: In addition to the officers serving in the garrison in Gervoudan, there are only four graduates of Luyuan in the entire county.

   There is no need to mention who the three unlucky ones are, and the other is a senior, who is stationed in the south of the county seat, about 40 kilometers away from Heishui Town.

   According to Bard's squad leader, it was a squad leader of a squad leader. That is, that man is four terms ahead of Winters, Bud and Andre, and has been with Prato for five years.

   As a courtesy, Bud felt that they should also visit the former alumnus. Not to mention that in a long-term closed environment, the ensigns are eager to learn more outside news.

   So Bud sent a message to the two friends and agreed to go together at the time.

   After leaving Blackwater, they galloped on dirt roads in forests and wilderness. Because I have to go back and forth on a horse, I have to stop and rest from time to time.

  In the newly reclaimed land, which is vast and sparsely populated, it often takes a long time to see villages and scattered farmhouses. There was no one in the front and back, and only the dry food and water that came with the horse were eaten and drank.

   But it was rare for a few people to get together, so it didn’t feel hard.

   The journey was uneventful, but the closer we got to our destination, the weirder Winters and Andre felt. They don't seem to be heading for a town, but in a less populated direction.

   "You're right?" When he was resting again, Andre couldn't help but asked Bud, "There's not even a place to live around here, and we don't bring a tent. If you make a mistake, you'll be in trouble."

  Andre has been estimating the distance and direction, and he realizes that the destination should be within a few kilometers. But the surrounding looks more desolate than before, and it doesn't look like the outside of the town at all.

   "There should be no mistake, and there are no forks on the road." Bud took out a roll of paper from his saddlebag, on which was the scribbled map and route description drawn by the senior: "The key point is I don't have a detailed map near Gervoudan."

   "Should have brought a guide." Winters regretted a little: "Forgot this is Prato."

   The three studied the map in their hands, carefully recalled the way they came, and confirmed that they were right. Can only bite the bullet and continue to move forward.

   After another half an hour or so, wooden fences began to appear on the roadside. With signs of human activity, the three lieutenants' confidence surged.

   I didn’t expect that the end of the dirt road turned out to be a small and dilapidated town than Wolf Town.

Although   Wolf Town is small, there are at least two streets, one horizontal and one vertical, as well as a church, and it is full of vitality.

   But the town in front of him was just a row of low wooden barracks along the road.

The reason why    is called "barracks" is that the shape of the wooden houses is similar to the prefab houses in the military camp, and they look very different from the houses in ordinary farms.

  The peasants' houses are roughly similar in material and structure, but the details are full of the life of the users.

   And the wooden house in front of you is the same, as if it was a clay doll poured out of a mold, full of templated flavor.

   A row of wooden houses stood abruptly on the ground, surrounded by desolate meadows on all sides, looking very lonely.

The weirdest thing about   —Winters pondered for a while—was that there were no women and no children in this town.

   "Is it here?" Winters looked at Bud.

  Bud is also very puzzled: "It should be here, but it looks a bit wrong."

  The people outside the wooden house noticed the three officers on the side of the road. A man who looked like a guard with a bow and arrow came over and asked lazily, "Who are the adults looking for?"

  The man has a large dark red birthmark on his left eye, which almost covers half of his face, making it very conspicuous.

   "Let's find Lieutenant Mason." Bud asked the man: "Is the person in charge here Lieutenant Mason?"

The    man replied listlessly: "The lieutenant has taken someone to supervise the lawn mowing. Sirs, please wait here for a while, I'll find someone to call the lieutenant back."

   He roared in a strong Platonic accent, and a small man beside the wooden house responded and ran towards the dirt **** not far away.

   "Who are you here?" Andre asked, staring at the man with a frown.

   "Me?" The other party smiled: "If you go back to your lord, I'm the one who is responsible for watching other people."

   Winters sensed a strange smell: "Wait, this is a prison?"

   "Of course not, sir." The bored guard didn't lift his eyelids: "This is a pasture, a labor pasture."

  …

  …

"Haha, it's a rare visitor, but it's been a long time since alumni have visited me." Lieutenant Mason pushed open the door and warmly invited the three juniors to enter the room: "I've been busy mowing winter grass recently, so don't look at them. Not working hard... Hey, what am I talking about! Come in, you're welcome."

The furnishings in the    lieutenant's house are very simple, a bed, a cabinet, two tables, one large and one small, a few stools, a wooden rack for hanging clothes, that's all.

  The other wooden houses in the working ranch are shared by several people, only the lieutenant owns a log cabin - this is probably the only luxury in the house.

  The simple wooden bed was placed in the corner of the room, and the futon remained the same as when the user left it, and it was randomly rolled up.

   The leftovers from the morning were still on a plate on the small wooden table, and two flies were alarmed when the lieutenant walked past it.

   The whole room is a good representation of the typical single, single, unattended young male living conditions.

   The only thing that made Winters more curious were the stacks of books and the manuscript paper on the big wooden table.

   "It's a little messy." The lieutenant threw the dinner plate on the small table into the wooden barrel outside the door: "Don't mind, please take a seat."

   He rummaged through the chest of drawers and took out a few cups. Crawled under the bed and found a half-drinking bottle of spirits - followed by an unopened bottle.

"I haven't had a guest here for a few months." Lieutenant Mason was busy pouring wine for the juniors, and said happily: "It's really rare that someone comes to visit me. Next time, send me a message in advance and let me take care of it. Get ready. The beef I have here is really good."

   Lieutenant Mason rushed back as soon as he heard that there were guests coming. After learning that the guests were his alumni, Lieutenant Mason's enthusiasm took a new level.

   Without waiting for Winters to ask, Lieutenant Mason opened the conversation on his own. And just like a dam burst, it can’t be controlled at once.

   poured down a full glass of spirits, and Lieutenant Mason began to slap the table and yell at "Sun Sheep". From time to time, the swear words are mixed with "I am an artillery officer with a high school background", "The Japanese sheep with maggots in my stomach asked me to raise pigs", "I might as well go overseas" and so on.

When his emotions reached the extreme, Lieutenant Mason grabbed Winters' hand and said tearfully: "Listen to my advice, leave early and get out early, and if you can take off your military uniform, go back to the United Province as soon as possible. Let the United Province people go to this place. , don't think about what kind of business you can do..."

   "This...Senior, I'm not from the United Province, I'm from Veneta." Winters looked embarrassed, and wanted to take his hand away but was embarrassed.

   "Huh?" Mason was dumbfounded and looked at Andre: "Then you are from the United Province?"

   "I'm not, I'm also Veneta." Andre shook his head hurriedly, pointing to Bud: "But he is."

  Mason's mood gradually cooled down, and he wondered: "Then why did you two Veneta people come here? Shouldn't you go back to where you came from?"

  Winters recounted the unpredictable disasters suffered by this class of Veneta graduates.

   When it was said that the mustache officer could not help but imprison the Vineta graduate in the carriage, and when he came out, he had already reached the castles of the kings, Lieutenant Mason sneered contemptuously: "It's like something that the **** of the Interprovincial Army can do."

   When it was said that the Paratus Army had forcibly disbanded Second Lieutenant Veneta and assigned him to various places, Lieutenant Mason's face was even more contemptuous: "I'm not surprised that a scumbag can do such a thing."

After listening to Winters' story, Mason looked at the three juniors with great sympathy: "The province sent you here, not only to provoke Veneta, but also to provoke Plato, Of course, the scumbag won't give you a good face. The battles of the big men always cost us people, ahem!"

The lieutenant sighed and said comfortingly: "But don't worry, you are better than me. The plateau people won't keep holding you until they send you back. Like me, you can only stay here for the rest of your life. Feeding pigs, horses, prisoners, day after day, helplessly wasting time, just thinking about it makes me hopeless…”

   This topic is too heavy, and Mason's expression is getting darker and darker.

  Andre hurriedly interrupted: "Senior, are all your subordinates criminals?"

  Mason was stunned for a moment, then replied: "Except for the guards...but most of my guards were also prisoners before."

   "But aren't your custody measures a bit... lax?" Winters also immediately added a new topic: "It seems that it's not difficult to escape?"

"Run? Where are you going? There are desolate meadows on all sides." The lieutenant's face was half-smiling, and he explained patiently: "And the people who come to me are all light criminals, and they can go home after working for a few months. , if you run away, you will be wanted for life. I'm looking forward to running a few people occasionally and having more fun."

   "Did the Palauans use hard labor instead of prison?" Bud asked.

"The Japanese sheep are very stingy, how can they tolerate being in jail for nothing?" Mason always looked dissatisfied when he mentioned the Palatine people: "But stealing a chicken to work for two months is better than having his hands chopped off. Strong, are you right?"

   "That's true." Several people echoed.

"However, the Japanese sheep are better, and don't have much control. As long as you pay enough meat and animals, you don't care about the rest. I have a leisurely life here. The past few years have been good, and I can pay the prisoners some wages and food. Order some meat. Some homeless prisoners are reluctant to leave in the end." Mason's face glowed again: "I have been improving breeding stock. When I find a way to take off this military uniform, I will be in Palato. buy a small ranch…”

   The three second lieutenants looked at each other and heard that although this senior was very dissatisfied with being assigned to raise pigs, he obviously devoted himself to raising pigs.

   "Senior, have you heard about the recent draw?" Winters asked the lieutenant.

   Winters and others came to visit Lieutenant Mason, and actually had the idea of ​​asking about the outside world by the way.

   But it seems that Mason is more closed than the environment they are in, which is a surprise to several people.

  Lt. Colonel Custer said "Ding Ding", Winters also told two friends, after the three discussed that Custer did not need to lie to Winters.

   But the three of them knew nothing about why they wanted to draw Ding, and even what the word "Ding Ding" meant in Prato, the three of them had no idea at all.

  Although the lieutenant didn't look like a well-informed man, Winters made a casual mention.

  I didn't expect Mason to answer in a natural tone: "Of course I know, it is estimated that it will be after the autumn harvest."

   "Did you get the news too?" Winters was stunned.

"No, no one can give me news." Lieutenant Mason found a few pieces of paper from the big table: "Although no one gave me news, but after reading the newspaper sent by the army postman, I can also guess the sun sheep. What do you want to do?"

  Di newspaper? Winters never got it.

   After Mason's explanation, the three second lieutenants realized that the postman from the Parato Army would only come to the door once a quarter.

  In the sparsely populated Republic of Palatu, the settlements are far apart, and communication is difficult. In order to alleviate this problem, the military and administrative agencies will distribute newspapers to various places every quarter to ensure the most basic information flow.

   Winters and the others took over the last quarter's newspaper and read it carefully, but they didn't see anything about "Ding Ding" or the word "Ding Ding".

"The army has been advocating for a long time, so it's almost straight." Lieutenant Mason said calmly: "Looking at this posture, it is estimated that after the autumn harvest, the war will start in the winter. Maybe the prisoners will be recruited, so I just rushed Mow the grass. The prisoners are all taken away, but I don't have enough manpower here."

   "Think about it for yourselves." The lieutenant said with a sneer, "Why did the federation choose this time to deal with Palatu? It's just that the Japanese sheep will endure."

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   (end of this chapter)