Unknown Knight

The continuous spring rain is as precious as oil. More than a week of rainy days made the newly planted wheat fields on the Dehrim Plains absorb moisture, but it also made Aix feel very bad. He originally wanted to send this batch of food and grass to Roma Castle to contribute to the war in Vigia and to establish a good relationship with King Yarogerk, but now it seems that this idea is likely to fail.

You know, the situation on the battlefield changes rapidly. So many days have passed, who knows what will happen, and he always feels that something is going to happen these days.

The only thing that made him feel fortunate was that he no longer had a fever on the third day, and the surface of the wound had healed in the past few days. Although the inside may not have healed yet, it did not delay his riding journey.

The sky finally cleared up that day, and Aix decided not to wait any longer, so he ordered the caravan to set off. However, not long after leaving the city, he regretted his haste. The muddy dirt road made the journey extremely difficult, and after a day of hard work, he only traveled half the distance he had originally planned. Two trucks were damaged on the way, but fortunately Aix had made arrangements in advance, and there was a carpenter accompanying the caravan, so it didn't take too much time. When resting at night, all the members were covered in mud, and almost everyone slipped.

However, from that day on, the road conditions improved. The continuous sunny days made the road dry quickly, and the caravan resumed its previous speed. After another three days, the caravan finally arrived at Fort Loma at noon that day.

However, no matter how hard they worked on the journey, it was too late. Three days ago, King Yarogerk led the Vigia army to launch a decisive battle against the army of the Khergit Khanate, and defeated the Khergit army in a field battle, achieving a decisive victory.

It turns out that King Yarogerk has been hiding in Castle Roma for so long, not only because the Vigir army is indeed no match for the Kugits in field battles, but more importantly, he is waiting for the rain.

Between January and February every year, there would be continuous rain here. The abundant rainfall turned the water-saturated meadows into muddy swamps, which greatly limited the advantage of the Khergit cavalry, but the Vigerin army was not affected much.

So the king chose to launch a general attack on the Khugits three days ago, when the sky had just cleared and the ground was the most muddy. The result can be imagined. The Khugits were directly defeated. Not only did they lose almost all of their baggage, but a large number of people who lost their horses were also captured.

This shows that King Yarogerk is quite capable. Not only can he endure, but he can also launch a fatal blow at a critical moment. He also has a strategic vision that looks at the overall timeline. He is considered a top figure in this era. Aix feels that in time, this king will surely rise on this continent.

In this battle, the Kingdom of Vigia captured nearly 500 prisoners and seized countless supplies, so it was obvious that they were not short of food. However, King Yarogerk still remembered the friendship of Aix's mediation, so he met him in person and promised to buy the food he brought at the current price.

That afternoon, Aix was invited to accompany King Yarogerk on an inspection. When the group was at the city gate, watching the dozens of prisoners who had just been captured from the front, Aix heard a few familiar voices. He heard a prisoner whisper:

"Brother Shun, what should we do now? It looks like we will be sold into slavery."

"What's so scary about that? We are the master's shepherds. We just moved to a new place."

A stronger prisoner said.

"That's different, Brother Shun. I heard that these barbarians only send slaves to the mines to be miners. Once these slaves enter the mines, they will never come out alive. They will have to dig until they die in the dark mines. I heard that there is an even worse kind of boat slaves. They have to row on the boat until they die, and then they are directly abandoned in the sea. They won't even have a complete body!"

"Please don't make any noise. Let me see the situation first."

The man called Shun Ge saw that his companion was a little agitated and was afraid of attracting the attention of the guards, so he comforted him.

After listening to their conversation, Axe was extremely shocked, because although the two were covered in mud and his specific appearance could not be seen clearly, Axe could understand what they said, which was clearly semi-classical Chinese.

Since coming to this world, Aix thought he had traveled to another world, but he didn't expect to hear the voice of his hometown. For a moment, he was overwhelmed with emotions and was very excited. When he was in a daze, he heard King Yarogerk say to the people around him:

"Identify these Khergit nobles and put them in solitary confinement. We can ask Saiga Khan for their ransom later. The remaining Khergit 'Tang slaves' and other slaves are worth little even if they are sold to the mines. Right now, food is not abundant in the country and the price of food is relatively high. The price they sell for may not be enough to cover the food they waste. Kill them all tomorrow!"

After hearing this, Aix's heart tightened, and he hurried forward to King Yarogerk and said:

"Your Highness, my territory is in urgent need of labor. Can you give these people to me?"

King Yarogerk was startled, looked at him with a smile and said:

"Count Aix, these are hundreds of mouths to feed. Can your territory afford to feed them?"

Aix chuckled and said:

"Your Highness, I don't want all of them. I just want to pick out the ones that look pleasing to the eye."

"Yes, but you have to make sure they don't escape and cause trouble in our country!"

"Don't worry, Your Highness. I will keep a close watch on them and bring them safely to the territory."

After hearing what Aix said, King Yarogerk said to the secretary beside him:

"Go with Count Aix to make the selection. The rest of them will not be given any food today. They will be kept in solitary confinement and all will be executed every morning. Their bodies will be hung on the road leading to Kugitsacher Castle."

After saying that, he nodded to Aix and left with his men.

Led by the secretary, Aix came to a corner of the castle. Inside the isolation wall of the siege, there was a large group of people sitting there, about 4 to 500 people. Although many of them had mud on their faces, a closer look revealed that there were still many of the "Tang slaves" mentioned by King Yarogerk. Aix even saw a few people with their hair tied up in buns.

Aix stood outside the isolation wall and looked carefully. He pointed at the man called Shun Ge and waved him over. He asked him in Chinese:

"Are you from Tang?"

Hearing this, Brother Shun was obviously shocked. He carefully looked at the nobleman wearing striped armor and a mink cloak, and said excitedly:

"Are you from my hometown, sir?"

This was the first time that Axel had spoken to one of his own people since he came to this world. He was a little excited and nodded to him.

"Listen carefully and don't make any noise. King Yarogelk will execute all of you tomorrow and nail you to the road leading to Kugit..."

Before Aix had finished speaking, Shunge collapsed and was about to kneel down. Aix interrupted him sharply and said:

"Stand up! Don't make any noise. I have already asked His Majesty King Yarogerk to allow you, my people, to become my subjects. You will be watching from the sidelines. If anyone pretends to be from my hometown, please point him out. OK?"

This Shun brother nodded hurriedly and said:

"Your Excellency is merciful, and I dare not disobey you."

Aix first asked Bandak to call some caravan members to come fully armed to maintain order, and then asked everyone to build a new isolation wall with chevaux de frise, and then came to the captives and said in Chinese:

"Everyone, listen up! All of us Tang people, please stand up immediately!"

Seeing that many people didn't react, the guy called Shunge immediately added anxiously:

"Fellow villagers, this gentleman is from our hometown, and he is here to save your lives. If you want to live, stand up quickly!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd began to react, and more than a hundred people stood up one after another. Aix asked Brother Shun to guide these people to the newly built isolation wall.

Aix stood by and looked at these people. They all looked pale and thin, which was obviously the result of long-term malnutrition. He couldn't help but feel a lump in his throat and sighed for these fellow countrymen who were stranded in a foreign land.

Suddenly, Aix saw a strange red-haired and red-bearded man among them, so he pointed at him and said:

"Don't pretend, get out now!"

Shun brother hurriedly dissuaded Aix:

"Sir, wait a minute. I want to let you know that this Liu is named Hu'er. He is a descendant of the Xiongnu and was once a neighbor."

The one called Liu Huer laughed and said:

"Hehe, you can just call me Hu'er."

"What's with the Hu'er Hu'er? It sounds really bad. Since you are from my hometown, you can just call yourself Liu Tang."

The newly promoted Liu Tang was overjoyed when he heard this, and he bowed to Aix and said:

"Thank you, sir. Thank you for the name!"

Axe nodded and let him go through the isolation wall. Liu Tang was almost 1.8 meters tall, and he looked like a big man even there. He was very eye-catching, so Axe decided to train him well.

After about 10 minutes, the hundred or so people entered the newly built isolation wall. Aix asked Shun Ge:

"Just check and see if there are any more. Don't miss any people from your hometown."

Shun Ge shrank his neck after hearing what Aix said:

"My lord, I do have it, but I am Na Yan's servant, and I am so precious that I don't think highly of you, my lord."

After hearing what he said, Aix became interested and said:

"Please point him out to me. If he is from my hometown, wouldn't it be a pity if he died?"

Following the direction of Shun Ge's finger, Aix saw about a dozen people gathered together. One of them was particularly eye-catching. This man was about the same height as Aix, with a broad back and strong arms. Shun Ge said that this man was called Ran Gong, the leader of Na Ke'er under Na Yan, and was known as the tribe's best archer.

When Aix heard this, he was delighted. This Archer was not called that for nothing. It was a highly difficult high-altitude fast-moving target shooting. Its difficulty was no less than that of some international shooting competitions in later generations. This was a talent among talents. So he waved for him to come over.

Ran Gong seemed to be angry. He walked up to Aix and said with a fist clasped in a neither humble nor arrogant manner:

"Why did you call me here, sir?"

Aix looked at his unconvinced expression and said:

"You are from Tang? Why don't you come over here?"

After hearing this, Ran Gong said arrogantly:

"So that you all know, I am the leader of the Nak'er under the command of Aichemoer Tuoju Nayan, and I am no longer a Tang person."

"Oh, so if you're not a Tang, then what are you? A Kugit?"

When Aix heard what Ran Gong said, he laughed angrily. He also heard the sarcasm in Aix's words, and his face turned red.

"Not really, I am just that humble."

"I heard that this means servant or minion. Is that true or not?"

Seeing that Ran Gong stopped talking, Aix continued:

"You are just a servant, just a little higher than a slave. Why should you be so proud? How can you be as noble as a Tang person like me? Let me ask you, did Toju Nayan ask you to lead the team to cover the retreat of the Kugit people?"

Ran Gong's face turned red again and he kept silent. In fact, it was Tuoju Nayan who brought a group of Kugit people to seize their horses and let them stay behind to cover their retreat, which led to their capture in the end. However, he still said stubbornly:

"We were captured while trying to cover Tuoju Nayan's retreat. Nayan will definitely use money to redeem us."

After hearing this, Aix laughed and said:

"Do you know why I want to gather you people from my hometown together? It's because your people will not pay your ransom. His Majesty King Yarogelk will kill you tomorrow as a sacrifice! I saved you from His Majesty King Yarogelk because you are from my hometown."

Seeing that he still didn't believe it, Aix said:

"If you don't believe me, follow me back to the camp. We'll see the result tomorrow morning."