Realm of Power

In the early morning, on the forest road leading to the Everon Pass, more than a hundred horse-drawn carriages filled with cotton wraps were trudging along the muddy road.

The carriage was packed with important information accumulated by the Dardanelle family for hundreds of years. The fat man was going to take all this information back to Zhivadin.

The cool breeze blowing through the forest made the fat man tighten his tight-fitting leather jacket. Underneath the leather jacket was a layer of light ring armor, and the cold steel pieces stuck to the thin underwear, stinging his flesh.

Ever since Fatty was attacked on the bridge, Fatty had habitually added a layer of mail armor on the back of his clothes. However, the autumn wind was cold, and when the oncoming cold wind blew, the biting coldness poured in, even for a thick body like Fatty. It’s a bit too much.

There had been a heavy autumn rain a few days ago. Because the trees on both sides were lush, the terrain was shady, and the road surface had not yet dried up, it made the team's march very difficult. There were deep ruts under the heavy carriage wheels. The carriage that was winding up in the distance was partially stuck in the mud. The escorting soldiers needed to unload all the goods and then work together to push the carriage out of the mud pit.

"How long is this road?" The fat man frowned in displeasure. At this speed, he probably wouldn't be able to return to Zhivadin in two days.

The dilapidated and muddy forest road in front of us was temporarily built for the light infantry regiments in the Dardanelles era. Although it is wide enough, the ground bearing capacity is obviously insufficient. It is made of perennial accumulation of soil in the forest, which is soft and damp. In the rainy season, it becomes a puddle of mud.

Coupled with the recent increase in the number of horse-drawn carriages transporting construction materials, the originally uneven roadside is now even more bumpy. Not only is it difficult for vehicles to move, but even horses are afraid to speed up.

"There are still more than ten miles of this road. Only when we reach the Everon Pass can there be a hard stone road." Sabeniken, the captain of the Six Flags Regiment in charge of the escort, looked embarrassed and wiped the sweat from his forehead, saying in a fat man's tone His displeasure is too obvious

After occupying an area, they build a road to Zhivadin. This is the habit of the Samoan army. This muddy broken road clearly shows the failure of the Sixth Flag Regiment. Seeing the fat man's frowning eyebrows, Sabini Ken quickly explained

“The peasant riots that spread throughout Riva Cheze some time ago forced the flag corps to deploy a large number of manpower to maintain order, so the road construction was temporarily delayed!

The commander of the flag regiment has begun to deploy manpower and is preparing to replace the soft road on this forest road with a solid stone road as soon as possible. I believe this bad situation will be improved soon!"

"Yeah! I hope so." The fat man loosened his frown and grunted. Sabeniken was right. He was too busy some time ago and no one remembered about road construction. Fatty Afraid that Sabinek was just perfunctory, he continued:

"Let me tell you, Commander of the Statunko Banner, that I will come to Zhivacheze in late October to supervise the construction progress of the Samoer War Academy and the Tattis Port. If by then, this road is still so bad, I removed him from his post as Internal Affairs Officer of Zhivacheze and told him to go back to Falcon Territory and be his little tax collector!”

"Yes, yes, Lord, please rest assured, I will bring your words to the flag commander intact!" Sabenikan nodded with joy on his face. If the Governor said this, he was not prepared to pursue the matter this time.

Sabinek was a guard in Fatty's Falcon Territory era. Since he fought with Fatty, he has gone through several life-and-death battles. He can be regarded as a direct descendant of Fatty's confidants from Falcon Territory. He calls Fatty Lord Lord instead of The Governor not only showed his closeness to the fat man, but also showed his seniority to the guards around the fat man.

The muddy road slowed down the horse team's progress. The fat man had to lead the guards back to Zhivadin, passed through the Everon Pass, and set foot on the wide commercial road built strictly in accordance with the Samoan road standards. The carriages coming and going gradually There are more

The major projects in full swing in the south not only attracted the local nobles of Riva Cheze, but also the caravans from other areas of Samoa became active. The muddy forest road could not stop the merchants' determination to pursue profits.

Faced with the poor road transportation lines, the businessmen came up with a tortuous way to drag the construction materials to Linatu Town near the Everon Pass, and then board the ship from the Linatu Town Pier.

Transport it along the river to Tadings Town in the southern suburbs of Riva Cheze, and then load it ashore and transport it to Riva Cheze. Because the river is not big, you can only load the goods on wooden rafts and follow the water flow. Instead of going upstream in a big boat, Fatty had to choose the land route.

In the town of Dantus, not far from Zivadin, the fat man unexpectedly found a caravan of Yuyehua from Kyoto. Three small carriages were parked outside the tavern outside the town. The fat man had left Kyoto for some time. I only have a general understanding of the situation in Kyoto.

I only know that the old liar Jones, with the secret support of the business alliance, has opened up a situation in Kyoto. A considerable force has been formed around the Jones family. Although it has not yet reached the point of competing with the royal family and conservatives, it is It’s just a matter of time, any new thing requires a development process.

"Everyone dismount and find a place nearby to rest!" The fat man looked at the lively town in front of him and waved to the dozen guards following him to stop their horses. The guards took the reins from the fat man and the people in the town There were quite a few, especially the merchants who were driving horse-drawn carriages in a hurry. A wide commercial road passes through the center of Dantus Town. On both sides are small hotels and cargo stations run by the residents of the town. The wooden doors and windows across the street are closed most of the time. This is an unwritten rule among merchants.

Merchants are always very concerned about the secrets of their goods. If the doors and windows are closed, it means that someone is already using the place. If they are open, it means that the place is for rent. Pedestrians passing by can only look at the rows of closed doors and windows curiously. , I heard the noise of drinking and the shouts of unloading goods, which can be regarded as a unique scenery in Dantus.

Dantus is located on the south side of Zhivadin and is the only way to get in and out of Zhivadin. Many businessmen choose to rest in Dantus. After sorting out their goods and contacting the warehouse, they set off to Zhivadin. .

The fat man came to the tavern where the Yuyehua carriage was parked, and carefully examined the three carriages in front of him. One of the carriages had a deep crack on the side door handle, as if it had been chopped off in half, and the wood of the broken opening had dried. The hair was yellow and black, and it looked like old marks left by being split with a sharp weapon. This made the fat man feel his heart skip a beat. "Did the old liar come to Rivadin in person?"

The fat man still remembered that old Jones liked to brag about his travels in his youth. One of them was that he was assassinated by his love rival. During the fight, the rival's hand ax chopped off the door handle of the carriage. In order to show off his charm, old Jones used this The carriage with scars is used as his own carriage.

"Creak." The fat man pushed open the wooden door of the tavern full of doubts, and the bustling noise rushed in. He saw that it was filled with businessmen and mercenaries coming from north to south. There were more than a dozen tables, and only the table in the upper left corner was empty.

“Boss!, let’s have sixteen glasses of pine nut wine!”

The fat man waved to the tavern owner and led the guards to sit at the table in the upper left corner. He looked carefully twice and saw no sign of the old liar Jones. He couldn't help but frown slightly, "Did I remember it wrong?" "

"Cousin Jones Nelly! Do you think the Business Alliance will help our Longs family this time?" A familiar and charming figure suddenly walked in from the door of the tavern. Jones Nelly, whom she hadn't seen for many days, was accompanied by a petite noble girl. He walked in, followed by two handsome young nobles.

Jones Nelly was about to answer her little cousin when her eyes suddenly froze. In the upper left corner, a fat man with a depressed face was staring at her with wide eyes.