The roads in Limassolia County are a bit poor and full of potholes, making it very difficult for the carriage to move. Uncle Osk cursed while driving the carriage to turn left and right to avoid the large potholes and large protrusions that accumulated water on the road.
stone.
There was a heavy rain from last night to early morning, and the road became very muddy. Limassoa County is full of mountains and highlands, so the carriage trudged hard on the mountain road, moving forward step by step.
"This road is too bad. Why can't it be repaired properly?" Claude has already sat next to Uncle Osker. Sitting in the carriage on such a mountainous road is simply suffering. No one can bear it.
That bump.
"It's not that it can't be repaired, but it's not that no one repairs it, but that it will become like this not long after it is repaired. Limassoa County is a major mining county, and almost all roads to the outside are in this situation, mainly because they are used by those who
The trucks transporting the ore were overwhelmed. And the road repair fees they collected from the mining companies could barely repair the roads near each town, and they couldn't do anything further away." Uncle Osk replied.
Claude understood that the current road construction in this world is basically based on stone powder. That is to say, first make the foundation, put in the rubble, then fill it with gravel, then pour clay slurry, and finally lay a layer of stone powder.
In fact, ordinary passenger carriages and cargo carriages will have no problem running on it. But for those carriages transporting ore, the load-bearing capacity of this road is not very good, and it will be easily crushed over time.
Although there are building materials such as cement in the world, the output of cement is not large, and the cost is also a bit high. It is not a big deal to build a house and a yard, but no one can bear the cost of building a road.
In addition, it is said that even if the road is paved with cement, it will still not be able to withstand the pressure of many horse-drawn carriages.
There used to be a prosperous street in the royal capital. The road was broken down. In order to attract more customers, the bosses pooled their money to pave the floor with cement. As a result, only half a year later, the cement road was still crushed by the carriages coming and going.
There were many potholes in the ground, which blocked the passage of pedestrians. In the end, the bosses had no choice but to re-pave the stone road...
"We have to stop ahead. You see, the hooves of the two horses pulling the cart are covered with a big ball of mud. I have to help them scrape them so that they can run easier. And the road is too
If it's wet, rest for two hours and wait for the sun to dry the road surface so that we can walk more easily." Uncle Osker frowned and said to Claude.
"It's okay. We have plenty of time. It doesn't matter if we report in one day earlier or later." Claude comforted him.
"Well, then we will go to Baimu City to stay tonight. Originally, I planned to arrive at Ventario City at night, and then we can arrive at Conigada City in Cafilezte County tomorrow, and then you can go to Fuke the day after tomorrow.
Reported from the Bishan military camp. This is exactly a six-day trip, but now it seems that it will be delayed by one day, the mountain road here is too difficult..." Uncle Osker was very annoyed at the unexpected situation that occurred in the plan.
After walking on the mountain road for a while, the carriage stopped in an open space beside the road. Uncle Ousk took a small piece of wood to scrape the mud balls from the feet of the two strong horses pulling the cart. Claude was not idle either, looking for
A branch lifted the mud off the wheel.
"Uncle Osker, are you familiar with this County of Limassol?" Claude was at a loss for words.
"I'm familiar with it. The army I was in was stationed here for five years. Later, the second war broke out with the Kingdom of Nasseri. At the beginning of the war, a unit of the Kingdom of Nasseri attacked the city of Bentario. I
The battalion I was in at that time was ordered to go to the garrison. As a result, I was injured by a shell on the city wall without firing a single shot. I bled a lot. When I woke up, I was sent to a field treatment center. I recovered half a year later.
I was injured, but the war is almost over. My troops have been ordered to withdraw from the Kingdom of Nasseri to rest and recuperate, but I still haven’t had the opportunity to make meritorious deeds on the battlefield..."
This is one of the three wars that Uncle Osker has participated in in his life. He went into battle, was injured, recuperated, and the war ended. However, Uncle Osker said that he was very lucky. The battalion he was in at that time was in that Benta.
After the defensive battle of Aocheng, the number of personnel was reduced by up to two-thirds. Uncle Osk was injured at the beginning of the battle, and there were still enough manpower to send him to the field treatment center for pharmacist treatment. It is said that there were heavy casualties in the later stage of the defensive battle.
Many injured soldiers bled to death because they could not be withdrawn from the battlefield...
"Later, after I retired from the army, I worked as a caravan guard. I used to come here several times a year to escort the caravans here to purchase ore and transport various commodities. After I stopped working as a caravan guard, fewer people came here. In the past three years, except for you,
, that is, the Kritadaro County town where the family was escorted here two years ago. The male owner of the family seemed to have been hired as a manager by a large mining company here. I heard that he had a high salary of one gold crown per month, which was very enviable.
ah."
"By the way, Uncle Osker, you said this is a major mining county. What are the mineral resources produced there? When I was studying, the geography book said that there are more than ten kinds of mineral resources produced here. Are there so many?" Claude
asked.
"There are many of them. Gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, tin, coal are all very common, as well as limestone, granite, saltpeter, etc. Anyway, what you said in your geography book is correct.
. It’s just that there are less than ten kinds of mineral resources. There are more than ten kinds of more precious mineral resources here. I once heard the leader of the caravan talk about the white root powder, blue and white stone, and phosphorus produced here.
Rainbow Stone Essence has always been in short supply, and every year it is sold out as much as it is produced, and the price keeps rising every year..."
Blue and white stone is actually a marble-like stone with a fine luster and is known as the best carving stone. The fluorite essence also has a name, which is earth crystal, which is an earth attribute magic crystal.
Uncle Osk pointed to the front of the mountain road: "Follow this road for more than twenty miles, you will reach Baimu City. The white root powder produced there is the most famous in the kingdom. It is said that the mining workers dug those fossils back then.
The plants even cursed loudly, thinking that the ground was full of waste and rubbish, not the gold, silver, copper and iron ore they were looking for.
The miners' settlement built at that time was also named Baimuku because of these excavated fossil plants. It wasn't until a pharmacist heard the miners who were going down the mountain to purchase supplies talk about it, and hurried to the mountain to take a look, that he realized that these fossil plants were
The raw material of Shiroki powder turned into a treasure. So Shiromokku started to become a town, and later it was upgraded to a city..."
So the white root powder that is most commonly used in potion experiments and alchemical magic experiments is produced here. Claude couldn't help but become interested: "Uncle Osker, do you know the price of the white root powder produced here?"
Uncle Osker shook his head: "I don't know. I'm not interested in these. Anyway, the price doesn't seem to be very cheap. But be careful when buying white root powder in Baimu City. There are many scammers. Some scammers hire children and use other powders.
It is sold as white root powder. It is said that the adults in the family stole it from the mine and now sell it at a low price to supplement the family income. Many people who do not know the background are easy to be fooled. The caravans I used to go to are those big trading houses.
If you buy it from a store opened by a mining company, although the price is a little more expensive, the quality is guaranteed."
After resting for nearly two hours, the originally muddy mountain road was a little dry and cracked by the sun. Claude and Uncle Oaks ate some dry food for lunch, then hitched the carriage and drove the two strong horses to continue on the road. At four in the afternoon
At around 0:00, we arrived at Baimu Castle.
Claude was once again severely questioned at the city gate. The garrison soldiers carefully checked the Blue Feather Legion recruitment order and the stamps on the pass that Claude took out.
He received the seal of the security camp and sent the carriage into the city. Uncle Ousk, holding his national ID card, sat on the carriage with a smile and waited for Claude to get on the carriage after checking it.
However, Claude found that the guards of Baimu City seemed to be very tight. There was a small group of security battalion soldiers on duty at each city gate. In addition, it felt that these soldiers were more guarding the inside of the city rather than outside the city. There were only four soldiers in charge of entering the city.
The other eight soldiers who were on alert faced the city. In addition, there was also a small group of soldiers patrolling on the city wall. Their focus was also on the city. The most important thing is that all the soldiers
The match ropes on the muskets they held were all lit, and they could shoot at any time...
Uncle Osker disagreed. He had experienced many such situations when he was a soldier. It was nothing more than problems in the city. For example, a fugitive sneaked into the city and was discovered, so the soldiers increased vigilance to prevent him from jumping over the wall and forcing his way through the city gate to escape.
"Most of them are near misses. If a few fugitives try to break through the city gate, they will definitely be seeking death." Uncle Osker said: "When I was a soldier, I once arrested an underground gang that set up a private casino.
, the boss gathered more than 40 people to attack the city gate guarded by only a small group of soldiers. As a result, they shot and fired, only four or five were killed and wounded, and the rest all knelt on the ground crying for their fathers and mothers, begging for mercy...
…”
Along the way, Claude also learned a lot. For example, in small towns, the patrol team was responsible for checking and stamping his pass, while in the city, the security battalion guarding the city gate was responsible for checking and stamping.
Stamping. As for those local garrison teams, such as those formed in villages or towns, they can inspect but have no power to stamp the pass.
The tavern where Uncle Osker took Claude to stay was called the Big Wagon Tavern. This was the favorite place for the coachmen who transported ore to the mining company to gather. Claude saw two people parked in the large open space in the backyard of the tavern.
There are more than ten heavy-loaded carriages. The three rows of stables built with logs next to them are full of strong draft horses pulling the carts. Five or six grooms are busy feeding and watering the strong horses.
It was still early, and there was still more than an hour before dinner, so Claude decided to go out for a walk. He didn't want to be like Uncle Osker who asked for a glass of ale and sat in the tavern hall listening to the coachmen bragging about cows for more than an hour.
After going out, turn left and walk towards Mario Street, two streets away. Uncle Osker told Claude that the stores of mining companies and big merchants are all on Mario Street, which is very close to the Big Cart Tavern and only a ten-minute walk away.
Come minutes.
However, as soon as he passed a street corner, Claude was pestered by someone. A thin guy with a sinister look appeared next to Claude: "Brother, do you want white root powder?"
Claude smiled and shook his head.
"Brother, it's very cheap. A box only costs one gold crown. I got it from the mine privately, and the quality is guaranteed. You know, those big trading houses sell it for three gold crowns a box, and the profits are all taken by those big merchants.
The greedy mining companies and trading house bosses took away the money, and we miners only earned enough to buy brown bread. Because it was so unfair, we secretly got some out of the mines. We don't
Greedy, as long as you can have a few full meals..."
The thin man kept nagging Claude, and Claude stopped helplessly: "Do you think I am someone who can afford a box of gold crowns? And I don't know what white root powder is..."
"
"You should have told me that you couldn't afford it. It made me paralyzed and walked with you for so long and talked so much." The thin man cursed and said: "Hey, silly boy, let me buy a cup for you.
How about if the wine moistens your throat, you apologize to my brother?"
Claude suppressed the anger in his heart: "No, why should I apologize to you?"
"Hey, silly boy, you are still not convinced, are you? Do you want me to call some people over and ask you to kneel on the ground and beg for mercy? You have made me waste so much saliva and effort, of course you have to buy a drink and apologize to me! Come on!
Take the money and come out..."
Claude's eyes flashed with murderous intent, and he coldly uttered one word: "Get out!"
The thin man was so frightened that he stepped back again and again, but he was still trying to be brave: "You, just wait for me..."
Claude ignored him and turned around to leave. The second-rate guy got entangled with him out of nowhere, trying to blackmail people after failing to deceive him. It seems that what Uncle Osker said about many scammers here is true.
When the thin man saw Claude walking away, he gritted his teeth and followed quietly, staring at Claude from a distance, ready to see where he was going...