Sword of Dawn

"May the light purify your sinful, ugly, garlic-smelling soul."

Like a qualified military chaplain, this devout Holy Light pacifies the undead of these brutal and bloody mercenaries with his faith, so as to prevent the environment full of death from spawning dangerous evil spirits or cursed plagues .While praying, he took his hand away from the head of a dead mercenary crossbowman, then walked to the next mercenary wearing a gray short robe and knelt down: "May the holy light purify your... eh? you……"

Following Wright's doubtful voice, the "corpse" in the gray short robe moved instantly. The mage in suspended animation suddenly opened his eyes, which were filled with chaotic light streams of magical overload, and a dangerous arcane missile followed. It took shape on his chest and attacked Wright!

At such a short distance, it is no longer possible to use divine magic to protect the body, but the missionary Wright still raised his right hand high, calling out the skill of the holy light unswervingly: "Commande Silence!"

A fist the size of a casserole fell from the sky, and the mercenary mage, who was pretending to be dead, immediately passed out with blood on his face.

Honestly, it almost killed me.

Then the missionary stood up and shouted to Gawain: "My lord! There is a mage pretending to be dead here——scare me!"

But Amber saw the whole process of the matter, and the half-elf lady exclaimed not far away: "Oh my god - you didn't beat him to death, did you?"

Wright looked calm: "Don't worry, I'm not dead, the silence technique can't kill people."

"Tie these two alive." Gawain probably had some immunity to these guys with abnormal styles. At this moment, he just sighed and assigned the task normally, "Philip, take half of the people to the forest." Turn around and make sure there are no remaining enemies. Wright, come here, there are wounded here."

Chapter 0162 The Dust Settles

Not long ago, the elite mercenary regiment, which was so strong that it seemed invincible, was wiped out in ashes. In a combat form that no one had ever seen, it fell down continuously like harvested wheat.

And a group of heavily armed soldiers came out of the woods and began to clean the battlefield and count the dead bodies.

The refugees are all poor people living in the lowest class of society. At best, they are just free people who are struggling to survive. These people who have not been educated and have seen much can't see the equipment of those soldiers and other nobles. How different is the army - all seem to be the same expensive steel armor, and they all have swords in their hands (although they don't use those swords at all), the same fierce and terrible.

The refugees who fled to the depths of the camp due to the explosion had no way out, and were soon found out by these unknown soldiers from the stone caves and tattered tents, and brought them to the square where they had gathered before. The civilians used violence, but these terrified people were still trembling, not at all more at ease than when they were used by mercenaries with swords.

For most people in this era, robbers, mercenaries, and soldiers are all the same, and in fact these three roles can be interchanged at any time.

Joan huddled beside the crowd, carefully lowering her sense of presence. She didn't know where these soldiers came from, but they were uniformly equipped and moved in an orderly manner. They were obviously the troops of a noble lord, and a noble lord Why did they suddenly come to destroy a mercenary group?This is really bad, but no matter what, it is definitely not aimed at saving a group of "untouchables".

Maybe what they want to do is the same as those mercenaries before - capture some slaves and go back. Although the orthodox nobles seldom do these things by themselves, for the barbaric and chaotic southern border, there are also deviant nobles. of.

That unusually tall man should be the leader of these people. He commanded another knight and a girl who seemed to have elven blood. All the soldiers around him were in awe of him. The man walked over here.

The refugees gathered together in fear, and many of them had scratches from being pushed or fell down. Gao Wen really couldn't tell which of these people was the "leader" of the refugee team, so he stood He said loudly beside the crowd: "I am the lord of this land, you don't have to be afraid, I am here to protect you - are you all here?! Is there anyone missing or injured and unable to move?"

These refugees were startled by Gawain's loud voice, and then startled by his status as a lord. As a result, the first reaction was to step back in unison, and then you looked at me and I looked at you. No one was there. Dare to speak up.

Gawain frowned, and at this time Priest Wright had wiped off the blood stained by the "Silence Technique" on his hands, and came to Gawain's side.

"Holy light! Look at the physical condition of these poor people!" The burly pastor exclaimed, drew a holy symbol on his chest, and then opened his hands to mutter, a hazy and holy radiance Then it emerged in the air in all directions, and as Wright recited specific sentences in the Holy Light Prayer, these shimmering lights gradually formed a magic spell that can restore energy in a large area and heal minor injuries, "May the Holy Light heal you. "

Except when they are being punished, poor people at the bottom rarely have the opportunity to get close to real magic or magic. A large-scale "micro-effect holy light" is only the most basic first-level magic, but it still allows these People were in awe, and even slightly agitated.

After casting this basic magic spell, Wright discovered that among the refugees there were more seriously injured people, and the weak magic spell had no effect on them, so he pulled these people out of the team one by one and treated them individually.

A thin, dark-haired girl was more seriously injured than the others, and her injury had been worse for more than a day. Her arm and shoulder had been bitten by some kind of fangs Infection occurred in this harsh environment, and compared to this injury, the bloody new wound on her face was nothing to worry about.

"You're lucky." Wright used holy light to purify the infected wound on Joan's arm, "Look, look, it's starting to fester—in a few days, you'll have a high fever, and you may die I can't keep it!"

Joan could feel that her injury was improving at an incredible speed, and the noble lord standing beside him who claimed to be the lord had turned his attention to her, and she heard him say: "The injury on your arm was not caused by those mercenaries. Made it?"

"...It was bitten by a wild animal." Joan restrained the tension in his heart and replied fearfully.

"What about the face?"

"By their whips."

"...Don't be afraid, these mercenaries can't hurt you anymore," Gao Wen comforted the bruised girl, "How many of you are there? Are you all here?"

Tom's figure flashed through Joan's mind for a moment, and she bit her lip, wondering if she should speak.

"Don't worry, I've already said that I'm the lord here—this land belongs to the Cecil family, and you have been placed under the protection of my army," Gawain smiled, "The Cecil family Committed to restoring order to the land, we are locating and gathering homeless people scattered throughout the area."

Speaking of this, he raised his head and raised his voice: "It's not just you - if you know other refugee settlements, you can tell me that as long as you abide by the laws made by Cecil, I will allow every homeless Those who live in this land, and those who provide information about refugees can get extra rewards!"

The crowd became agitated slightly. This kind of "nobility opened the door and accepted the homeless to live in the territory" was something they had never heard of. The first reaction of most people was surprise and disbelief, and some even doubted this. Is it some kind of trap, but the "extra reward" has attracted their attention, and Joan can feel the crowd behind her shaking. I heard someone speak——

"My lord, my lord, most of us escaped from Vulture Territory," a thin, dark-skinned man boldly said, "there was a flood, the land and houses were destroyed, and all the food was destroyed. The lord closed the gate of the castle and let us wait outside to die, some of us escaped... Do you really let us escaped people live on your land?"

"As long as you abide by the laws of this land and act according to my rules," Gawain said affirmatively, "and you can rest assured that Cecil's laws are definitely much more benevolent than those you were supposed to abide by."

"That……"

Just as the shriveled and thin man opened his mouth to say something else, there was a sudden noise in the woods. Knight Philip came back from patrolling the woods with a dozen soldiers, and two soldiers escorted a limping, A boy with a red nose.

"My lord!" Knight Philip reported loudly. "We found a man in the woods—probably a refugee who had escaped. He attacked us with a bow and arrow, but he did not hurt anyone and was caught by us."

Joan's heart tightened, and she looked up in horror. Sure enough, she saw Tom being held by two soldiers on the edge of the woods.

One of the soldiers still had the familiar hunting bow passed down from his father hanging on the buckle around his waist.

In an instant she figured out what happened: Tom said he was looking for mushrooms, but he took the bow and arrow secretly, probably because he was going to venture into the depths of the woods to hunt, but he neither caught the prey nor was he killed by the hungry people in the woods. Eaten by wild beasts, he fell into something worse: this impudent fool, who attacked the lord's knights and soldiers with his bow and arrows!

Joan just felt dizzy and dizzy, and she was about to fall down as soon as her body softened, which shocked Wright who had just finished treatment for her: "Holy Light! Could there be something wrong with my healing technique?!"

And the young man at the edge of the woods also saw his sister and the situation inside and outside the camp—he didn't know what happened here, so he exclaimed: "Sister?! What's going on here?!"

"You guys know each other?" Gawain waved his hand, signaling Knight Philip to let the thin young man come over, "Why did he attack my people?"

"Tom! You have caused a disaster!" Joan grabbed Tom's arm, almost trying to pinch his flesh off. "You attacked the lord's soldiers!"

"I... I thought they were robbers..." Tom looked horrified, "I heard them talking about what to do with the corpse..."

The corner of Gao Wen's mouth twitched, he understood the situation.

"That seems to be a misunderstanding." He looked at the confiscated hunting bow. This kind of low-quality bow and arrow can only be used to deal with wild beasts in the forest. It is not suitable for Cecil combat soldiers with enchanted armor or knights like Philip. Yan Yan is not even a toy, "Philip, who was attacked?"

A magical infantryman stood up: "Report, sir, it's me, but I'm fine!"

"My lord, this seems to be a misunderstanding," Philip said proactively. "The knight should be tolerant. I don't think it is necessary to hold this young man accountable—as long as he can remember his lesson and stop being so impulsive again."

Gao Wen is liking Philip more and more for his unknowingly flattering personality...

"Since it's a misunderstanding, then I won't blame you, but after all, you took the initiative to attack people, so a moderate punishment is still necessary." Gawain looked at the young man with the red nose, and he noticed that after he finished speaking, Halfway through the sentence, the young man and her sister trembled at the same time, with expressions of nervousness and fear on their faces. It seemed that they were very familiar with the meaning of "moderate punishment" in the mouth of nobles—but in Gawain's case, On the other hand, the so-called moderate punishment is really just a moderate punishment, "Just do things to make up for your mistakes... By the way, can you and your sister find other refugee settlements?"

Chapter 0163 New Population and Hetty's Worries

Probably because they didn't expect the so-called punishment to be so understated. After hearing Gawain's words, the hunter siblings didn't react for a while. It wasn't until Gawain repeated his question that the red-nosed Tom nodded in a daze. : "Yes... My sister and I can find another settlement."

Homeless refugees will wander around between territories. Usually, their routes of action are irregular. They walk in places that no one knows, and they will die in places that no one knows, but in general, The area where they can stay is limited.

These ranges are usually in the deserted mountains and ridges between various noble territories, and this large piece of land north of the Baishui River, east of the Tanzania Mine Mountain, and south of the Kant Territory is such a place.

A large number of refugees from Vulture Land, Carroll Land, and many scattered villages and towns in the northwest wandered to this area along the direction of rivers and mountains. They could have migrated to the slightly richer central area, but in the past two years, the central area of ​​the kingdom Poor harvests in China and the southern region have led to insufficient food storage everywhere. Although many places have recovered this year, the nobles in various places are still strictly guarding against foreign refugees. The nobles in the central region even treat thieves and robbers Those hungry people from the "poor south", so for these homeless people, all roads to the central region have been blocked, and they can only wander into this forest in the south.

According to rough information, there are as many as thousands of homeless people who are starving and living scattered in this mountain forest and wilderness, and because most of the refugees have migrated along the same route (even from the same place) Places), the settlements formed by these homeless people maintain a certain degree of connection-although the connection is extremely loose, it is like a net, as long as one of the nodes is mastered, then you can follow the line to find Hold the whole net in your hands.

It has been more than half a month since Knight Byron spread the news through his underground channels in the southern region. Certainly some of the information about Cecil's gathering of refugees has entered the ears of these homeless people, but these poor people have long been concerned about the nobles. Lose confidence—before the frosty moon comes, there will be mercenary slave catchers sent by the nobles to rob them almost every few days, so I want to make it so easy for these people to believe that there is still a noble family in the world that is willing to accept them kindly And protecting them is almost impossible.

But if there is a group of refugees, a group of refugees who escaped with them and lived in the wilderness like them for a few months or even a year or two, running between settlements to pass news, then it is easy to recruit homeless people There are many.

Gao Wen planned to select a group of people with more flexible minds, more courage, and more credible speech from the dozens of refugees in front of him as guides and messengers, relying on their persuasive power to attract the homeless in Cecil. Lead the family to settle down.

The Frost Moon is coming to an end, and after the Fog Moon begins, winter will officially enter, and it is necessary to complete as many resettlements as possible before more people freeze and starve to death.

The boy with the red nose in front of him (maybe he is an adult? But he is too thin) is a bit reckless, but he is quite courageous, and his eyes are not completely numb like most poor people, so he can serve as such a messenger.

"The Cecil family is reshaping the order in this land. Before the cold moon of this year comes, all homeless people wandering in this forest and nearby wilderness can report to the Cecil family and Become a permanent and legal citizen of this land," Gao Wen looked at the young man in front of him, and at the same time told everyone around him, he deliberately emphasized that all this should be done before the "cold moon" comes. Effective, but not really to set this limit, but to make this thing more believable, and to create a sense of pressure and urgency for these people in front of them, "in order that all people who need help can receive it in time News, I want you—and other capable people to find those refugees who are hiding, and I will send soldiers to escort them to ensure that you can complete these tasks alive."

Tom listened to all this with wide-eyed eyes, while Gao Wen turned around and turned to the haggard southern refugees whose expressions were only nervous and numb: "I know that you were all honest and responsible people, who obeyed the law and worked hard. Workers, but your lords have abandoned you, and all the nobles in the entire southern region have abandoned you. No family or piece of land allows you to stand and survive. You can only wander in the wilderness, relying on grass roots, bark, and even Moss and rats came to fill your stomachs, but even so, those noble minions are still robbing you, mutilating you, and even chasing you here! But, from today on, you stand on the land of the Cecil family, from today From the beginning, I am your lord! You can live freely and safely on the land of the Cecil family, and you must tell the people you know who have suffered together in the wilderness, let them know that there is a place where they can settle down !"

A little bit of brilliance finally emerged from those turbid and numb eyes.

They are still human after all, and they still have hearts.

Gawain didn't expect these dull hungry people to cheer and respond to him. After he finished what he wanted to say, he took a half step back. Seeing that Wright had given the holy light treatment to all the wounded, he turned his head and looked at Knight Philip: "Distribute some of the extra food to these people—otherwise, in their state, it may be difficult to walk to the territory. In addition, send a soldier on a fast horse back, tell Hetty the news, and let her prepare. "

Handing out food after a pep talk is always the way to go, especially in this day and age.

When the "lord" orders people to take out the food, these people will really feel that they have returned to the "human society", and they are sure that their new "lord" will indeed fill their stomachs, and they themselves will To this end, obey orders and maintain the most basic loyalty.The civilian thinking of this era is so simple and direct, it can be said that this is the only kindness Gao Wen feels in this malicious world.

At this time, the black-haired girl who had just received Wright's treatment came over suddenly, she clutched her clothes nervously and nervously, as if she wanted to say something, Gao Wen took the initiative to speak when he saw this, "You want to ask me for something? "

"Yes... yes, sir... my lord," the black-haired girl seemed to stumble a bit when she said the word "lord", but she managed to say it smoothly, "Is what you just said true? ?”

"Of course it's true," Gawain laughed. "Is it necessary for me to lie to you?"

But what the noble lords say is never true.

Joan only dared to think about this sentence in her heart, but what she said was: "Can I go and find other settlements with my brother? He has a handicap and needs someone to take care of him."

"If necessary, I will arrange a horse or a car for him." Gawain had noticed the problem with the boy's legs and feet just now, but he still nodded. "Of course, you can still act with him."

The girl bowed her head deeply: "Thank you very much for your kindness."

A day later, Gawain and Amber led half of the soldiers and escorted the two mercenaries captured alive back to the territory first.

Knight Philip took the remaining half of the soldiers to escort the dozens of "increased population" and followed behind. Since the refugees were weak and many of them had chronic diseases, Wright also stayed behind to take care of them.

By the way, that Holy Light Priest can match the fighting power of a Berserker...

Gao Wen was in a very happy mood. Although he only brought back a few dozen new populations this trip, which was not even as large as the population of a slave ship that came from Tanzan Town, he managed to fight against Baishuihe with this. The refugees in the northern wilderness have established contacts, and the initial trust will be developed on the basis of these dozens of people. He is extremely happy when he thinks of how many labors the territory urgently needs gathers in this vast barren land.

Not to mention that most of these refugees are freedmen with some skills, or at least a little knowledge. Their basic quality is higher than that of slaves bought back, which will reduce a lot of costs in later education.

It is very difficult for serfs to become refugees - because they were tied to the land, and when the famine came, the local nobles would collect their serfs and feed them at the lowest cost until the end of the famine, so as to resume production, and those who tried to escape The serfs would be captured and executed, while the freedmen with a slightly higher status would lose all their support in this situation and had to flee their homes.

That's why sometimes people would make a joke like this - in some noble lands, the price of freedom is even higher than being a serf.

But Heti, who was in charge of the internal affairs of the territory, seemed a little worried. She found Gao Wen, "Ancestor, are you really planning to collect all the homeless people in the wilderness on the north bank of the White Water River before the cold moon arrives?"

Gawain had already expected that Heidi would come looking for him, so he smiled: "Is there any pressure on food?"

"Indeed - if the information is true, the entire wilderness is now full of refugees, and we will support about 4000 people through this winter. The population expansion in the territory after this period of time is only 2000 people, we are equivalent to To support refugees who are more than twice our current population at once. And this is only a secondary problem. After all, food can be bought with money. Tanzan Town is rich and willing to sell us food at a low price. This aspect is easy to solve. Really The trouble is how to maintain order by adding so many people at once—we have finally digested and assimilated the purchased serfs and slave laborers into rule-abiding and law-abiding citizens. I'm worried that the gains that I've worked so hard for will be destroyed — even if the refugees didn't mean to."

"We have increased the population from 800 to 2000, and the population has more than doubled, but the order has not collapsed." Gao Wen smiled and looked at Heidi, "so what is there to worry about?"

"That's because the previously increased population arrived before the Frost Moon—the weather is warm and there are enough jobs for those people. They can follow the people to open up wasteland, log, and build houses. According to your statement, there are Labor will be transformed, and sufficient jobs will be the best way to digest and absorb the new population, but now it is the late frost month, and it will soon enter the snowy foggy moon, and then the cold moon where the dripping water turns into ice. We'll have no jobs then..."

"Who said there isn't any?" Gao Wen smiled more happily, "Why can't we work in winter, but can only stay at home to consume food? In fact, it's the opposite... I still have piles of engineering projects here. Let’s do it manually.”

Chapter 0164 Winter Construction Plan

Hetty's worries are actually not a problem in the background of this era, because in the three views of most people, and even in the facts of this era, cold winter only means one thing: everything is dying, life is dwindling, everything All work stops, and human beings will store up enough food and fuel before then stop working, return home, and turn into a state of pure consumption.

Just like those animals that store food in tree holes in advance and nest in caves for the winter.

This way of living is determined by reality—although there are all kinds of "magic" that behave like black technology, they only belong to a very small number of upper elites, and the whole world is still firmly bound by On the land, farmers are the most basic producers of almost all social wealth. Agriculture and various production activities based on agriculture are the most important production activities in this society. Once winter comes and farming stops, 80.00% of the people will be idle However, the backward aristocratic order prohibits these people from doing business freely or engaging in any "sideline business that does not conform to their status". Without the permission of the aristocrats, the common people will be severely punished even when they go fishing in the river or go hunting in the mountains. punitive.

In addition, the vast majority of civilians have limited food reserves in winter, and even they can only maintain a half-full state throughout the winter, so they dare not waste their energy to do anything "beyond the rules"-they don't dare to waste their energy in doing anything "over the line" in winter Every hot breath they exhale is depleting their meager physical reserves, and may cause them to freeze and starve to death before spring.

However, in Cecil Territory, the situation is completely different.

The Cecil family currently does not have any form of extravagant expenditure, which greatly saves expenses. The new production mode ensures that sufficient supplies can be stored before winter. Pittman and his trained pharmacy apprentices are doing their best. It also ensured sufficient food in the territory - coupled with the food purchased from Tanzan Town and the supplies supported by the king, the citizens of Cecil Territory did not have to think about consumption in winter.

Here I have to focus on the materials supported by the king—Gao Wen admitted that he had cheated Francis II a little in this regard, because the agreement he signed with the king was to provide the entire territory of Cecil Territory for development by the royal family. For the initial consumption, he didn't say how many people there will be in his territory, and how many people will increase in a short period of time, so he has already asked for additional supplies from the royal family several times...

The food supply was ensured, and Gao Wen had plenty of jobs here.

Nothing to do after winter?That's another territory, and Cecil still has a lot to do here.The steel factory is expanding in scale, and two large factories have been added next to the machinery manufacturing factory to accommodate new production lines. The kiln area for firing Rebecca crystals has also been converted into a formal factory, named "Magic Energy Crystal Smelting Factory." ", not only used to burn Rebecca crystals, but also set up a laboratory to test what new substances can be synthesized from various minerals dug from the dark mountains. The silly roe deer has to point at the crucible in the laboratory every day Throw more than 200 fireballs with a small furnace to be happy...

In addition, there are also iron mines in the east and countless construction sites on the territory that also need manpower.

After the winter, the land hardens and the water tends to freeze. All kinds of construction-related work will slow down, but this does not mean that the construction work will stop. Although the output of "products" is low, it performs very well at low temperatures. In addition, there are not too many large-scale buildings on the territory now, so the construction at various construction sites will not stop, and there is a large-scale project that is about to start ——

As the Baishui River enters the dry season and the water level drops, Gao Wen plans to build a really strong bridge on this river that can be used for a long time to replace the current temporary bridge. The development work can proceed smoothly.

He was even worried that even with the addition of the refugees in the wilderness, the manpower in the territory would still be insufficient—after all, those people needed training, and they couldn't get used to working at the beginning. non stop...

After Gao Wen presented these plans and supporting plans one by one in front of Hetty, the latter fell into a long period of consternation.

"How about it, don't you worry about those refugees having nothing to do now?" Gawain smiled, "We have enough jobs to keep them busy throughout the winter, and in the process everyone will adapt to the Cecil Territory. Uncomplicated new laws, so what are you worried about?"

Hetty silently glanced at the plan on the table, took a deep breath: "I'm worried that I'm exhausted..."

Gao Wen: "...cough cough..."

Thinking about the pressure this eldest granddaughter had to bear, Gawain could only comfort her: "Don't worry, Viscount Andrew found a way to find a group of down-and-out knights and bankrupt businessmen and scholars on his own territory, and said with money. Send them to work in Cecilland, I plan to arrange half of them to teach at night school, and the other half will be your deputy, so that you can set up the shelf of the Ministry of the Interior when winter comes."

Hearing this, Heidi finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank you ancestors..."

"Why does this sound so similar to what the barbarians used to say back then?" Gawain said with a strange look in his eyes. "Back then they used to praise the spirits of their ancestors first no matter what they did..."

Hetty thought for a while: "I'm different from them, my ancestors could indeed hear me thanking him..."

"Then your ancestors will reduce your workload, right?" Gawain looked at the granddaughter who was rarely able to make jokes, dumbfounded, "Okay, okay, let's go and do your work first, and wait for Tanzan Township." After the next batch of human resources are delivered, I will give you a priority to pick a batch of assistants, right? Just don’t say ‘thank you ancestors’ in that pious way in front of me… I used to deal with barbarians I have fallen into a psychological shadow, as soon as you mention thanking the ancestors, I feel that I will become the spirit in the sky again..."

Hetty: "..."