Sword and Sorcery and Martial Arts

Chapter 144 River Valley City

More than a week later, Rhodes and the others arrived in River Valley City of the Roman Empire.This time the journey was safe, no bandits like river robbers were encountered, but they were allowed to pass after the captain paid a toll.

"It's finally here." Hamer was the first to get off the boat.

"Let's find a place to have a drink?" Baron also stepped off the boat. "I want to eat some meat. I eat potatoes every day on the boat. Even if it's delicious, I'm getting tired of it."

A few days ago, every time Rhodes was doing something in the kitchen, he had to ask Baron to guard the door. He was a little afraid that the sailors who were drooling at the door would rush in.

The night before the ship was about to arrive in River Valley City, Rhodes used up all the remaining potatoes and let the sailors on the ship taste his handicraft.

The sailors almost cried when they smelled the fragrance every day, and finally got the chance to try it once. After eating, they all said that they used to eat pig food. Several people even joked why Rhodes gave them food, After eating the dishes he made, they went to eat the food made by the chef on board, but they couldn't eat it anymore, which made the chef on board feel a little embarrassed.

Rhodes walked off the ship with his armor on his back. He somewhat missed the time when he had the space ring. Without the space ring, he still had to carry his armor on his back. Now he can bear the weight of tens of kilograms, but the whole set of armor is put together. It's quite bulky, and it's a bit of a hassle to walk around with such a large package.

After he got off the boat, he saw that Michel was leading her war horse, so he took off the armor package and hung it on the horse's back. This weight is completely easy for a war horse in this world.

The pier of River Valley City was built in the city. Like the pier in other cities, people came and went on the pier. Even though it was autumn, the temperature dropped a lot, and the porters were sweating profusely in short-sleeved clothes.

"How about we rest in this city for a few days before continuing?" Baron asked.

"I'm not in a hurry at all." Michelle nodded.

Then they walked towards the middle of the city, trying to find a hotel to stay.

"Why is this city so smelly?" Rhode said after walking for a while, holding his nose.

"The big cities of the Roman Empire are like this, there is no way around it," Misel explained.

"Is there no public toilet and sewer?" Rhodes asked after thinking about it.

"The nobles are not willing to spend money to build this kind of thing. They think it is a waste." Misel nodded, "I was wondering why there was no such smell in the city when I first went to the Nord Kingdom. Only then did I know the reason. Originally, I thought that only the Nord Kingdom had such a facility, but later I found out that there is also such a facility in Gulfstream City, but I didn’t expect that only the cities of the Roman Empire did not.”

It seems that the cities of the Roman Empire are similar to many European cities in the middle ages of the earth. There are no public toilets, no sewers, and the residents pour their excrement directly on the streets. Turned into mud.

Rhodes held his nose and walked through the stinking streets. It was hard to imagine how the residents of this city lived in it in summer.

Such untidy streets can easily cause plague. If he ruled the city, he would definitely order the construction of sewers and public toilets.

And the excreta collected in public toilets can be used to produce biogas or used as fertilizer. The world's crop production is not high, except that the seeds that have been carefully bred for many years are not planted. There are two main reasons that there is no fertilizers and pesticides.

At the entrance of a tavern, Baron walked in first. Rhode looked at the soles of his feet and then at the floor of the tavern, and walked in directly.

The grounds of the tavern were not much cleaner than the outside.

"What do you want to drink? Or do you want to stay?" asked the tavern owner, a thin middle-aged man with a listless look on his face.

Baron thought for a while and asked, "Do you sell meat here?"

"No." The tavern owner shook his head.

"Is there a stable?" Rhodes asked.

"No." The tavern owner shook his head again.

"Only in the tavern on the edge of the city." He added.

"Thank you." Rhodes followed Baron out after finishing speaking.

Walking along the street, they came to a tavern near the city wall and went in. After asking, they learned that the tavern had stables, but there was still no meat for sale.

"Is there such a big river near you that doesn't even have fish?" Baron asked a little unhappy.

"This river belongs to the lord. We can't fish in it without his permission, or our hands will be chopped off." The fat middle-aged tavern owner said with a smile.

The law of the Roman Empire stipulated that everything on the land and its products belonged to the lord, and the prey in the forest and the fish in the river belonged to the lord. Hunting without the lord's permission was called poaching.

In Rhode's view, the vision of these nobles is too narrow, and they really care about pennies and pennies, and it is beneficial to share this benefit with the people.Originally, those wild beasts would only be preyed upon by other wild beasts, or die naturally, and he would get nothing.

If the people were allowed to hunt, the people would fill their stomachs, get animal skins to sell, and own some property, and then they would use money for consumption, which in turn promoted the development of various industries and increased taxation.

It is only necessary to ban hunting from time to time to maintain the number of wild animals. As long as their habitat is not destroyed, their total number will decrease, and their growth rate will actually accelerate.

"Then there is always something for sale in the market, right?" Baron asked again.

"Yes, but none of the people who come to our tavern will eat meat, so we didn't buy it." The tavern owner replied.

River Valley City was in the interior of the Roman Empire, so few mercenaries and adventurers came to this city, and most of the customers in the city's taverns were low-income civilians.

The Roman Empire is different from the Nord Kingdom. The Nords are more adventurous, and the laws are relatively loose, so there will be many adventurers even in the interior of the Nord Kingdom.

"Then can we borrow your kitchen? Let's go buy the ingredients ourselves. If we can, we will live in your store tonight." Rhodes said.

"Of course." The tavern owner agreed without thinking about it. He has never had any business in this store, and only some acquaintances take care of his business. If it wasn't for his family, he would have changed his career a long time ago.

"But you have to prepare the seasoning yourself." He added.

Rhodes nodded.

"Then let's go out and buy something before we come back. Remember to feed our horses better," Baron said.

"Are you going together this time?" Rhodes was surprised that Baron would go out in person.

"It's better for you to go, Hammer and I will take a good look around this city to see what is so special about the city of the Roman Empire." Baron left the tavern after finishing speaking...

(End of this chapter)