To the west of Hanfeng City, there is a small town 20 kilometers along the road. Because the town is close to the green valley, everyone calls this place Green Valley Town.
This place originally belonged to the Long-Legs family, but is now classified as the Allard family. To the people in the town, it doesn't matter who is the master, they have to pay taxes anyway.
Wild grapes are abundant around Green Valley Town, and the residents of the town have learned to make the best wine over thousands of years.
There is a huge demand for alcohol in other worlds, and ‘Green Valley Craft Brew’ is considered a well-known brand in the North and is a must-have on the tables of the rich and powerful.
The development of the brewing industry has also led to the development of pottery, woodware, transportation and many other industries. This has made the life of more than a thousand people in the town pretty good, with every family having some surplus money and living a relatively peaceful life.
However, there have been some changes in the town in the past six months. A brand new caravan has appeared, and heavy carriages pass through the town from time to time, buying local specialties and selling cheap goods.
Compared with the thinness of the old-fashioned carriage, the four-wheeled heavy-duty carriage has a better chassis. It runs faster and more steadily, and can transport more.
Caravans sell goods cheaper and in greater variety.
The women in the town can buy more floral clothes, the men smoke exquisite tobacco from the south, and the children can eat candies of different flavors.
Pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, and even refined salt, many condiments not only enrich people's taste buds, but also allow food to be preserved longer.
The heavy-duty carriage also transported the wine produced in the town, and the purchase price was 20% higher than before. This made the residents of the town very happy, which meant that their lives were getting better.
However, the caravans also dumped metal tools and various types of wood, which were cheaper than imported iron ore and logs, causing the blacksmiths and carpenters in the town to lose business.
The heavily loaded carriage not only promoted trade, but also brought convenient information. In the past, the long-legged family's caravan only appeared once a month, but the heavily loaded carriage caravan came every week.
There has been a change of power in the Cold Wind City. The Long-Legs family has been defeated and withdrawn. The dignitaries are noisy and farce in the parliament continues. The wise and powerful Victor Hugo is trying to clean up the mess.
In the past, the town's knowledge of the outside world was often a month or even months ago, but now they can know what happened a week ago.
The caravan will also provide newspapers, which are posted on the notice boards of bars in small towns. The newspapers contain various news, such as recruiting craftsmen, product promotions, and apprentice recruitment.
The biggest impact was probably the map of Cold Wind City posted. For many people who had never left the town in their lives, it was the first time they knew the surrounding geographical environment.
The residents of the town feel as if their time has been moved forward. Their production and life used to be measured in months, but now they are measured in weeks.
Some residents were recruited by caravans and worked elsewhere. Others came from other places to build warehouses in the town.
Different people and different information exchanged and merged with each other, and everyone thought it was quite novel. Until one day, the people from the Long Legs family came back, and a large group of gangsters appeared outside the town.
The residents of the town opened their doors obediently, fearful at the appearance of the noble lord. However, the gangsters rode on horseback and launched an attack on the town.
In the blink of an eye, the town's wall was breached. The militiamen stationed at the wall were mercilessly killed, and the gates entering and exiting the town were burned down by the bandits.
This is a group of extremely vicious desperadoes, with hideous, crude and weird faces. They brandish weapons and force residents to provide them with drinks and women, and they also occupy bars in the town as campsites.
The gangsters must have just experienced a battle, and many of them were bloody and injured. They have bad tempers, get angry easily, and kill people when they are angry.
The town was on fire, crying endlessly, and the disheveled residents fled in panic. The bandits on horseback killed or captured those who escaped, and then drove them back into the town.
Under the threat of death, the residents of the town were frightened to death. They had been protected by Coldwind City in the past and had not experienced such a brutal attack for many years.
The gangsters felt that Green Valley Town was far enough away from Cold Wind City, and the people in the town were also under control. They could rest for at least a week, eat, drink, and have enough fun before thinking about the future.
At the entrance of Green Valley Town, five or six strong knights rode on war horses, looking at the town that was suffering from disaster.
A young knight galloped from the town. When he got close, he shouted angrily: "Sir, those gangsters don't want to leave. They want to rest in the town and are still killing people."
The leading knight was in his forties and had a strong build. He only snorted and sneered while on horseback. His deep-set eye sockets made it difficult to see his face. Even if the sun was shining, he seemed to be standing in the dark, eerie.
"That rabble has suffered enough from starving in the wild, and finally broke up a town. They will not come out again until they have eaten enough, drank enough, and spoiled enough."
The leading knight turned his head and looked at a four-wheeled carriage abandoned on the roadside outside the town gate, "We are here for this thing, so we don't have to worry about the life and death of that town."
The young knight urged his horses to report the news. He was anxious about the tragedy that happened in the town, but he didn't expect that his leader didn't care about the lives of civilians and only cared about a carriage.
The gangsters poured into Green Valley Town and left many of the stolen goods outside the town. The leading knight dismounted, walked to a very conspicuous four-wheeled carriage, and bent down to inspect its chassis structure.
"The things produced by Fuqiangling are so exquisite. Look at the carriages they make. Every piece of wood is spliced together perfectly. Only the best craftsmen can do this.
And this beautiful axle. Tsk tsk tsk... It's made of all metal, no wonder it can carry several times the cargo. It's a pity that such a good thing came from the hands of our enemies."
Lord Exon of the Long-Legs family, the former captain of the City Guards of Cold Wind City, the Frost Knight who came with hatred and revenge.
Zhou Qingfeng once had a fight with him at the military camp in the city, and the two sides ended up in a draw.
The noble Lord personally directed a group of gangsters to rob. At this moment, when he was free, he got into the bottom of the carriage and thought carefully, trying to decipher the mystery of the heavily loaded carriage.
His attention was mainly on the two metal axles that ran through the bottom of the car, but he didn't feel anything about the bearings connecting the axles and wheels.
Climbing out of the car, Exon patted the dust on his hands and said to his men: "Get on this four-wheeled carriage, we can go back."
The young knight stood up again and asked: "Sir, what should we do about Green Valley Town? Those gangsters will completely destroy the town. It was once our own town."
"It used to be, but not now." Exon shook his head and sneered: "Tias, you are too young to pity a group of civilians?
That town now belongs to the Arad family, and the people in the town have nothing to do with us. They are rebellious now. Even if we wait for us to come back, we will have to hang a group of people in the town.
Now it's just a small punishment for them."
These words caused a burst of laughter from the knights.
Tias was only in his early twenties, with a baby face and a bit of down at the corners of his mouth. He was stunned and failed to understand what Lord Exxon meant.
Tias volunteered to join the attack on the rebels heading north and followed the Lord to take the front line. Before setting off, he fully wanted to make the rebels in Cold Wind City feel fear and pain.
Lead the gang to attack the transport convoy of the 'Harmony Chamber of Commerce', snatch the four-wheeled carriage and try to decipher its secrets. This is the purpose of Exon and his team.
After the gang succeeded, they followed Exxon to Green Valley Town, and found that the town was empty of defenses. They immediately went in and plundered.
The screams in the town could be heard far away, and one could imagine that it was a living hell inside.
The young knight still couldn't bear it, and he spoke again: "What if Coldwind City sends people to chase us? Maybe this gang will be destroyed."
The middle-aged Lord's sunken eye sockets suddenly lit up, he snorted and sneered: "I will stay in the town for a few days, and I just want to know how long it will take for the rebellious gang in Cold Wind City to react?
If they are unable to deal with this group of gangsters within a week, I will advise the patriarch to immediately launch a counterattack and let them turn into ice sculptures in the cold winter wind."
Tias was stunned again and asked: "What if..., what if Cold Wind City responds quickly?"
Exxon's eyelids immediately closed, his gaze lowered, and he replied in a low voice: "Then we will meet a strong enemy."