Three Philosophical Questions for Travelers

Firm Kahn is the Duke of the Gulflands and Sands Castle. The four principalities nominally respect Bourne Heworth of the north as their king, but in fact the four principalities operate independently and are extremely independent, which is equivalent to four independent kingdom.The northerners accept the tribute from the other three countries, and they are kings in name, but they can't control much in reality.

In Haven's impression, the Grand Duke of the Bayland, Duke Film, was an "emperor on horseback". He fought against Duke Naren Mier in the south, laid down the swamp, and expanded the territory for the Gulf people. Later, he conquered the lizard tribe in the east and won a big victory. Since then, no lizardmen have come to harass the coastal people.

It is said that he used a trident that weighed one hundred catties, and could eat a shark with a meal; when he led ten soldiers and was surrounded by 1000 people, he forced a bloody way to break through, and brought back the head of the general by the way. It is said that when he went on an expedition to the sea, he encountered a giant whale disrupting the ship, and he threw a trident to kill the whale. Since then, he has been nicknamed "Duke of Whale Hunting".

There are many legends related to him, and the Duke of the Bay, Film Kahn, is a well-deserved hero.

But no great hero can stand the time.

Now the Grand Duke is in his eighties and is bedridden with a serious illness. The so-called "hero's twilight" is nothing more than this.

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Hai has studied history, and he knows that something will happen when the king dies.Obviously, the lord of Fengleibao also thought so.He may be scheming, he may be planning for a rainy day, but either way, it means something could happen.

Holding the warm fruit wine in her hand, Gelie said, "Many people were talking about this matter at the banquet. I didn't want to get involved in this kind of nonsense. I just planned to mix food and drink. After all, Fengleibao's seafood is delicious. The plump fresh fish is buried in the ice and transported all the way, all of them are fresh, boiled, roasted, fried or raw..." She said while gesticulating with her hands, cooking the fresh fish in the air, "ah, it's so far away " She waved her hand, as if trying to push away the fish in the air, "In short, I went there just to eat fish—if you can't eat roast chicken, you can always eat fish, right? The forest witch really doesn't have any big pursuits. , I’m satisfied after eating and drinking well!” She was aggrieved and resentful at the end, like a child who can’t eat sweets.

"Then what? Why did you... run back?" Haiwen saw that she was still wearing an evening gown, the corners of the skirt were torn, and the clothes were also stained in many places, looking very embarrassed.

"A northerner recognized me and said I was a witch. I really..." She took a sip of fruit wine, "I'm pretending enough! Do you think I don't look like a lady?"

Haiwen saw that she was indeed dressed alike, so he asked her, "Then how did you get recognized?"

She pursed her lips and said, "Probably because I chatted with the parrot on the window for a while."

"It's a good thing you didn't invite the fish on the table to dance." Hai Wen said with a smile.

Zhe Lite covered her face with one hand, and said helplessly: "I didn't want to talk to him at first! But I can't help it. Something happened to the bird's house, and he was looking for death. He said that he and his wife gave birth to a litter two days ago. , very happy, he picked fruit and grain, and worked so hard to bring up the child."

"Isn't that nice?"

"That's pretty good. The problem is that he and his wife are both green birds, and the babies are all red." The expression on Gellette's face became very subtle, and she couldn't tell whether it was sympathy or wanting to laugh. "My lord, think about it, if Isrit gave birth to a black baby for you..."

"Besides, I'll beat you!"

"Okay, okay, let's not talk about the forest witch." Ge Lite smiled and waved her hands, "Anyway, that's what happened, you think about it, how uncomfortable is this bird? Male bird, there is always such a thing ——If you have a bad temper, you will get a divorce, and if you have a big heart, you will be over with a chuckle. Anyway, you should live well, and it is wrong for you to seek death! I advised him, saying that you should not be sad or angry, and I will go I'll get you some corn and beets in the house, and after I'm done, I'll ask my pigeons to see if anyone knows a parrot, and I'll think about a marriage for you... Just like that, let that northerner see it."

Zhe Lite poured a large glass of sweet wine with resentment on her face, "Meddling in other people's business! What happened to me eating his family's food? We just wanted to have a normal dinner! He called Someone came to arrest me, and I ran away before the dishes were served!" The more she talked, the more aggrieved she became, and she drank heavily.

Haven asked her, "Are northerners so sensitive to witches? Why?"

"Oh! It wasn't true at the beginning. At that time, the Witch of Truth was recruiting many disciples in the north, and our liberal witches grew in power. Later, there were conflicts with the local religion. The two major religions in the north, one is the Vulcan sect, and this group of people is Admirers of ancient demon refining, their hobby is to burn people for fun, and there are some very powerful mages in them; there is also a group of knights, who worship the God of War and the Three Knights of the Great Light, this is a national sect, and the northern soldiers believe in it. At the beginning These two sects maintained opposition and balance. Later, the Witch of Truth came, Maria Mafa Macent, and came to the north to accept disciples, which broke the balance. But my patriarch is a fearless master, Vulcan sect He Knight Teacher didn't want to mess with her at first, but she still wanted to find fault, saying that she wanted to pull out the "True Fire Mage" and the "Three Great Knight Commanders of the Celestial Soldiers" to fight her. What do you think... oh, me and you Say, my lord! None of the liberal forest witches have a normal mind! They are all insane!" Gerrit tapped her head with her finger and said.Haiwen nodded again and again, deeply convinced of this.

"Anyway, Liang Zi was formed, and the two sects turned their swords and formed an alliance to crusade against witches. Fortunately, the Witch of Truth was able to survive in the north for decades, and then she died. The subsequent witch crusade movement. Now the north is a forbidden area for forest witches. If anyone wants to be a kebab instead of being a witch, he can travel there."

Different from the Middle Ages ruled by the church, the religions in the four duchies are very chaotic, with nearly a hundred sects of all sizes.Haiwen doesn't believe in religion, but dealing with these people will be indispensable in the future.He knew that there were truly pious believers here, or some practitioners with great virtues, but most of them were probably fishing in troubled waters.They say what they teach, but they are actually a group of gangsters, or cults that seek profit by brainwashing people.

It was already late at night, Haiwen saw that Geralte had already yawned, so he didn't ask any more questions.So they went back to rest, Esrit had already coaxed Salumir to sleep.Haiwen sat on the bed, put his arms around Estherite's waist, and said softly: "Let my daughter go to sleep with Violet tomorrow night."

Isrit's face turned reddish, "Yes, my lord."

Little Mill had always been a sound sleeper, and the two of them began to chat softly about the guests.Estelle told Haven that the woman named Laya was easy to get along with, and they established a friendship after a few simple chats.Tomorrow, she will take Laya to see Master Cat, and Hewen can ask other things by himself during breakfast.Then she talked about the man again.

"Master Heijin is a terrible person. Violet can barely deal with him, but the other servants dare not get in touch with him. He always has a straight face, and he has a strange smell on his body. It's not a bad smell, but it is Very pungent. I can't tell."

Haiwen nodded and said, "It's the smell of an alchemist, such as sulfur."

"Oh, alchemist." Isrit spoke a little louder, and Mir let out a dissatisfied murmur in her sleep. She showed guilt and quickly lowered her voice, saying, "It doesn't matter anymore, go to sleep, my lord." .”

"it is good."

There was nothing to say all night, and the next morning, Hai Wen greeted the servants and asked him to tell the guards and the Yizheng Hall that he had something to do this morning, and let these people train and work by themselves.Considering that the guests were tired from the journey last night, Haven invited them to have breakfast together at about nine o'clock in the morning.At this time, the two had already woken up. It was said that Miss Laya had always slept less, and she was practicing morning classes at the moment; while Hei Jin was packing her luggage, and piled the alchemist's bottles and jars all over the table.

The two accepted Haiwen's invitation to come to the restaurant, accompanied by the housekeeper and Estherite.Miss Laya changed into a new nun's attire. She was neatly dressed, and her facial features were soft. With a slight smile on her face, she exuded a gentle and kind temperament.Raya was very talkative and asked Haven a lot about Mustang Town.

In contrast, Hei Jin, the alchemist, was very gloomy. He hid himself in his clothes, and hardly loosened his high collar even when he was eating.After taking two bites, he said to Hai Wen: "I need a bigger office, the location is remote, and the ventilation is better. It's better to be close to a well or a small river-this is the premise of my work."

"I satisfy you."

"Well, I'll start working when I move. You can come back at that time." After saying this, he left the restaurant with his breakfast.

"What a rude person." The butler looked at Hei Jin's back and said suspiciously.

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Haiwen is not a person who sticks to etiquette, as long as the alchemist can do things well as Gerrit said, it will be fine.At this time, Laya said: "My lord, after we finish eating, I want to go to see the Smiling Ranger first. And if you have time, I would like to hear from you about the recent civil affairs work in Mustang Town."

Haiwen thought for a while and said, "Well, you can go to the Yizheng Hall with me after noon. I have to go to work later, and I'm already late."

"To receive us?" Laya said with a smile.

"Yes." Hai Wen also kept smiling, "Both of you are distinguished guests, they are very important to me, so I dare not neglect."

"What time do you usually work, sir?"

"If you count the morning exercises, you will go out after six o'clock."

"How long do you work until?"

Haiwen pondered for a while, and said: "Depending on the situation, it's usually after dinner, and sometimes it will be midnight if you're busy." After he finished speaking, Isrit also nodded, and said with a smile: "Yes, thanks to him, I'm always staying up late now."

The smile on Laya's face froze, "Is it like this every day?"

"Basically," Haven said.

She showed a look of surprise, and said: "Diligence is a virtue. Even in the strict discipline of the White Clothes Club, there are few people who can be as self-disciplined as you. It seems that what the Witch said is true."

After dinner, Haiwen told the butler that he wanted to find a place for Hei Jin, and he believed that the butler could handle the matter well; afterward, he took Miss Laya to Master Cat's house, and several of his female relatives also Came here with me.

When he got to the door, Hai Wen remembered to ask Laya, and said, "I think you have heard about the one inside. This is one of the four great rangers, the smiling ranger. Now he has suffered this disaster and is lying on the bed. , he has a very bad temper. If he starts to make a fuss later, I will stop him, so please don't take offense."

Miss Laya smiled and said, "I have helped hundreds of patients, so it doesn't matter if I see many of them."

Hearing this, Haiwen was a little relieved, so he knocked on the door and said, "Master Cat, I'm here to see you!"

Then I heard the smiling cat inside say: "Come in if you want, you are still waiting for me to open the door for you?"

Haiwen frowned and pushed the door open.Then a strange smell wafted out. The smell in the patient's room was already unpleasant, and it was even more pungent since it was cold and the windows were not easily opened.You may not feel it if you live in it all the time, but it makes you feel uncomfortable when you smell it suddenly.Hai Wen felt a little helpless on his face, but Laya looked as usual.

"Master Cat, as I said earlier, I invited a doctor to help you, and now he's here." Haiwen walked into the room, followed by Sister Laya.The other people were watching at the door, not daring to go in casually.

The smiling cat was lying on the bed, squinting at Laya. "Who is this?" he asked.

"This..." Hai Wen was about to say it, but Miss Laya spoke by herself: "I am Laya, from the White Clothes Society of Fengleibao."

"Oh, okay." The smiling cat laughed a few times, then waved his hand and said, "Go back!"

The atmosphere froze immediately, and Haiwen said quickly: "Master Cat, this is outrageous. He came here to see a doctor for you. How can there be any reason to leave as soon as he arrives?"

The smiling cat rolled its eyelids and said, "I'm not sick, what can I see?"

Haven has nothing to do with him.Master Cat is his savior and a friend who has had a life-long relationship. Today, let alone him losing his temper, even if he scolds and beats people, Haiwen is willing to suffer.If he dies, Haiwen is willing to raise him for the rest of his life.

At this time, Miss Raya said, "How should I call you? Smiley cat? Spike?"

"Just call him disabled." He said with a straight face.

Laya walked over and sat beside his bed, "Master Spike, I'm here to help you stand up again, not to fight with you." Her tone became serious.Hearing this, the smiling cat snorted disdainfully, and said, "Then I thank you for your kindness, girl! But I don't need your help, I know my own body."

"Well, Lord Spike, I believe you know it well. But this does not prevent me from appearing here. I came to Wild Horse Town not only for you, but also to give to the poor and open free clinics." She smiled gently , "At least let me stay here, I want to watch you stand up again, and then live like a dragon like before. Observing your recovery process is also a learning for me, after all, there are many injured people in the world, but Cases as determined as yours are rare."

Reach out and don't hit a smiling person, let alone such a lovely girl.Smiley Cat didn't choke her immediately this time, but said: "Whatever!" Then he turned his head and went to sleep.Laya then nodded and left the room with Haven.

They left the door and went downstairs. "My lord." Laya asked Haven, "Can you tell me about the Laughing Ranger? Everything about him. As long as you think you can tell, I will listen."

"It's a long story."

For Master Mao's condition, Haiwen told the doctor all the information he could explain, including his previous temperament, why he was injured, how he was injured, and his subsequent state, etc.Laya nodded after hearing this, and said: "This is really difficult. My lord, as you said before, the mentality of the smiling ranger is too far away-if it is an ordinary person, it will be fine, but the person who is bedridden now is a famous person. The smiling ranger, he has changed from a ranger to a...patient, it’s no wonder he can’t accept it.”

"Who says it's not." Haiwen leaned against the wall with a bitter expression on his face, "I think he's very stubborn, I'm afraid he doesn't want help from others."

"You are wrong, my lord." Laya said in a deep voice.

"I was wrong?"

Laya nodded and said, "The smiling ranger is not stubborn, he is afraid."

Hai Wen questioned: "Why is he afraid? He is a smiling ranger, and thousands of troops can come and go!"

"But he's not the Laughing Ranger now, he's crippled—he said it himself."

Everyone fell silent when they heard this. At this moment, they heard a burst of crying from behind. When Haiwen turned around, Mirsa was bursting into tears. "Oh my god." Isrit hurriedly walked over and hugged her, "What's the matter? Did someone bully you?"

Mirsalu didn't answer Isrit's words, but asked Laya in tears, saying, "Can the smiling cat get better?"

Laya walked over and kissed her on the cheek and said, "Yes, child." After doing this, Laya's eyes hardened.She said to Haven: "My lord, let Ranger get out of bed in a week."

Haiwen asked in surprise: "So fast? I remember Gellette said... At least three months. Do you think he can walk?"

Her voice was soft and her tone was firm: "Of course I can't. If I really want to go, I'm afraid he will fall to the ground before he can take three steps, but I have to let him realize how difficult this process is. Only when he first recognizes his enemy , he can muster up the courage to overcome it."

"This is too cruel." Isrit sighed from the side.

"This is a war belonging to Lord Ranger, and war is cruel." The nun used a word that made people's skin crawl, "I admit that the smiling ranger is a great hero, he can defeat all incoming enemies. But I swear, this time he faces a stronger enemy than any he has ever faced before."

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Raya was right.Haiwen thought to himself, the enemy of the smiling ranger this time is indeed powerful, but he believes that the ranger can defeat all powerful enemies.

Then everyone dispersed.Haiwen took Miss Laya to the Council Hall. Laya had been observing the town along the way, and many people cast strange glances at her.After all, there are no white-clothed nuns in Mustang Land, not to mention the beautiful nuns and the bald mayor walking together. This combination is really eye-catching.Some acquaintances on the road greeted Haiwen, and he responded one by one; there were always children running around them, laughing and making noise, but Haiwen ignored them.

"People are not afraid of you," Raya said to Haven. "They seem to love you."

"Hmm." They had already arrived at the square of the Political Hall. A few patrolling policemen passed by and greeted Haven loudly, which startled Miss Laya.

Then they entered the government hall, and Laya asked him: "Sir, actually, I wanted to ask you before. This is the government hall, where you discuss government affairs with your cronies. Is it not good for me to go in and visit?"

Hai Wen smiled and said, "There's nothing wrong with it! The people sitting in the political hall are ordinary people. If there is any difference, it is literate at best. What's more, the politics of Yema Town is transparent, the financial situation, various government orders, The civil affairs arrangements and so on are all public. I will ring the big bell regularly and then report to the townspeople on the work situation.”

Laya was amazed when she heard this, "Report? You said report? It's really unheard of for the mayor to report government affairs to civilians."

"You'll see it right away." He led Miss Laya into the political hall.It's almost lunch time, but everyone is still working before it's time for lunch.There were voices of conversation and debate coming from the rooms in the left and right rows of the hall, and the employees walked briskly down the corridors, and no one was idle.Laya looked at this scene in surprise and couldn't help but wonder.

At this time, old Ramon came over and said, "I have seen you."

"Thank you, old Ramon." Haven said to him, "Tell everyone that lunch is in the hall, and I want to ask something by the way."

"Yes, my lord."

Old Ramon ordered the cook to put the finished dishes in big basins and bring them out of the kitchen. After everyone got the bread and filled the dishes, they ate in the hall.Some people have chairs and tables, while others sit on the floor.Haven gave Raya a serving too, including fresh bread, a little cheese, some pickles and a little mushroom and chicken soup.Hai Wen called for someone to move a set of tables and chairs for Laya, but Laya said that she didn't need those things, and she was also a monk who came from penance, so she just had to be like everyone else.

So they sat down against the load-bearing pillars. They had just had breakfast and were not very hungry, so they drank some soup.When Haiwen was eating, he called some documents one after another, and asked them about some affairs of the day.For example, the working situation of the laborers, the collection of stone materials and the renovation of houses, and the winter problems of some poor households in the town.Raya ate and listened.

After eating, he called old Ramon again, and asked old Ramon to introduce Miss Laya's policies for coming to Mustang Town these days.Old Ramon picked up the important ones and talked about land reform, emancipation of serfs, increasing production, improving technology, etc. Afterwards, Hewen talked with her about his future plans.He said to Laya in as vivid and simple language as possible:

"The first thing is to let everyone have enough food. After eating enough, people will have the strength to earn money. Are you right?" Laya nodded when he said this, "There are three ways to earn money. The first is Farm work such as farming and animal husbandry is to find land for food. This is very good, and everyone can do it, so this is the foundation and the most important thing. I want to do it well. In the next two years, I will It is necessary to utilize every inch of wild horse land resources to maximize its value, so that people will not go hungry. But the land is limited, but the people are unlimited, and sooner or later there will be not enough people to breed, and the remaining How can people live without farming? They have to rely on crafts, let them be blacksmiths, carpenters, tailors, or handicraft producers. They buy and process the things produced on the land, and then sell them outside. As a result, people without land can live a good life."

Laya listened intently, and while talking, other members of the council hall also surrounded her.Little by little the small talk turned into a speech.

"Then the craftsmen need a place to sell the things they produce. But there are few people in Mustang. For example, this blacksmith specializes in making shovels. As a result, everyone in Mustang has shovels, and his shovels cannot be sold. So they need to sell Only by selling things outside can we continue to make money. At this time, merchants are needed to circulate goods and communicate with each other. This is my basic idea of ​​building a small town. We have clarified this contradiction and then resolved it step by step. The town will become rich."

After Hai Wen finished speaking, people applauded, Laya nodded, and said earnestly: "But my lord, there are many troubles here. I have been to almost every place in the Bayland, and I know that the land here has It’s so barren, the wind and rain here are unpredictable, the droughts and floods alternate, and there are still pests and rats, it’s not easy to rely on the land for food.”

"We'll fix it. To tell you the truth, I've seen poorer lands, worse environments, but even there there are still people living off the land. Nature never fails to live up to human efforts, miss."

Laya lowered her head slightly, her eyes thoughtful, "You seem to be really thinking about the people of Mustang Land—my lord, do you have religious beliefs?"

Is this trying to drag me into teaching? "I'm an atheist." Haven said.

However, Laya's next speech surprised him, "Coincidentally, me too."

Hai Wen asked in surprise, "Huh? Could Bai Yi be... this, this... religion?"

Laya shook her head and said: "At first, the purpose of the White Clothes Society was to eliminate suffering in the world, and did not mention any religious matters. But then the White Clothes Society split, and some of them started religious worship. And I am the chairman of the Fraternity faction, we insist on The first principle—the elimination of suffering in the world."

Haven couldn't help asking: "Why did you do this?"