In the cold morning, with a hint of loneliness, the Northern Alliance forces walked into a peaceful village. This was the third village they passed along the way, although the Oerengrad rebellion had thrown the entire Kingdom of Kislev into darkness.
land, but after all, the war only started in a few places, and in more villages and towns, people still lived peaceful lives.
But this does not mean that the villagers have no concept of the legion and war. When the mighty Northern Allied Forces entered this peaceful little village, all the villagers closed their doors in fear to avoid the legion's attack.
From the eyes of these innocent villagers, Rhodes saw their fear.
Because the arrival of the army means the confiscation of grain, and it may even be forced conscription... and the currency paid by the army to farmers when collecting grain is often very small. Once a household is requisitioned for grain, they will not be able to requisition it for a whole year.
After recovering from this "disaster", some even became beggars. Sometimes, the food requisition was not enough. If the army's losses were relatively large, the officers would recruit troops on the spot. It is conceivable that some families only have one man in his prime.
If a man is captured as a soldier, the family will be ruined. This can also explain why there are so many delinquent women in the territory of human forces in the Old World. Some are willing to fall because selling oneself is faster than working as a coolie to make money, and
Some are forced by life and have no choice.
Although Rhodes really wants to stop the food requisition, at least the price of the food requisition must be more generous and not drive people to a dead end... But after all, he is not the commander of this legion, so he has no choice but to watch helplessly.
The soldiers knocked on the door from door to door, like bandits, rushing into homes and begging for dry food.
In the cold morning mist, the Northern Allied Forces were like a group of robbers, knocking on the door vigorously. Although many villagers were unwilling, they opened the door to "receive" these Kingdom troops from the north under pressure. Rhodes followed the Duke's food collection team
I walked into a farmer's house. The wooden boards on the door were somewhat worn out, and the only valuable things in the house were probably the old furniture. The soldiers didn't have swords, and the man of the house was already sitting in the corner rustling.
Shivering, it can be seen that he is unwilling to hand over the grain. Sowing has not started yet during the Spring Equinox. If the grain is handed over at this time, what will they use for sowing? They must leave some rations to get through this period and wait until the crops mature in the summer.
New food sources.
However, the grain requisition team didn't care about this. They took out the Duke's grain requisition order, which clearly stated the laws and regulations, as well as the price of the requisitioned grain.
The market price of barley is 13 silver shillings per pound, but according to the regulations of the grain requisition order, the purchase price is only 8 silver shillings per pound. The man said all kinds of things, but the people in the grain requisition team were indifferent and even looked at him.
He glanced at the pitiful hostess behind the male host and her underage daughter.
Rhodes stood outside the door with a heavy heart. To some extent, the medieval world was also a side of the dark world of the Middle Ages. There were not so many romantic stories of princes and princesses, but more of a history of people's constant struggle for survival. Common people,
The same goes for nobles. Free love is just a lie written in fairy tales. In the real world, when a prince and a princess get married, the main purpose is political alliance...
And the common people at the bottom sometimes can't even find their wives...
"Stop dilly-dallying. This is not against your family, friends. You should understand. We also act impartially. We hand over the food and we give the money. It's that simple."
The leading guard took a step closer. Although he did not use force, his eyes clearly told him that escaping was impossible and that he could only be let go if he obeyed and handed over the food.
"The land has not been sown this year. For the sake of the gods, please leave some for me."
In the early morning, the man's helpless plea and the girl's cry in the house formed a sad elegy. Rhodes knew that if the legion had not passed by, they could have lived peacefully, but now, the peaceful life has been broken, and they can no longer live in peace.
Make a complete home.
"I didn't write the law." the guard captain shouted, "hand over the food and don't waste our time."
"At least your price should be higher..."
"How dare you bargain with the Duke's Legion?" The fat guard was so angry that the little girl hiding behind the hostess cried even harder. There was innocence on her young face, and she wiped herself with her mother's skirt from time to time.
tears.
"Please...this little food supply is really not enough for us to live on."
The man begged, but the soldiers of the grain collection team were no longer impatient. They pushed the man away, walked straight to the granary, and began to carry the few wheat bags. Several soldiers of the Duke's Guard even took a fancy to
He captured the hostess of the house and forced the woman into a corner. The girl's cries were heartbreaking... Finally, Rhodes couldn't bear it anymore and quickly stepped forward and pulled away a few arrogant guards.
"That's enough. Give them back the food. I'll pay them as much as they want."
Rhodes roared. The woman hid in the corner, looking at the scene in front of her in horror, tears dripping from the corners of her eyes.
"Sir? What are you doing?"
The guard asked in surprise. In any case, Rhodes' status was indeed higher than theirs. Although they were members of the Duke's Guard, these people were only soldiers after all, and Rhodes belonged to the nobility and was considered a lord, so in front of Rhodes
, several guards immediately became obedient. But what they couldn't understand was why the Lord of Blackhammer Castle wanted to interfere in this matter.
"I said, let them go, I will pay for the food on their behalf."
"Lord, these untouchables do not deserve your sympathy. There is nothing we can do about it. You know, the food requisition is not just for them. Everyone must turn in food. Otherwise, what will we eat?"
When the guard asked, he almost said - you can save one family, but you can't save them all. The whole village is like this, wherever the legion passes... But in front of Rhodes, the guards didn't dare to do more.
After all, he was the one who saved the entire legion, and the title of God's Chosen Son had already spread throughout the Northern Alliance.
"Collect half of the grain and pay it at market price, and return the rest to them."
But Rhodes didn't care. Although he was a little impulsive, since he had taken care of it, he had to take care of it to the end.
The guards had no choice but to compromise. They knew that once the lord in front of them got angry, everyone would be miserable.
Upon seeing this, the man of the house and his wife quickly knelt down to thank him. Even the little girl knelt on the ground numbly and looked at Rhodes with horrified eyes.
But Rhodes just waved his hand, not even bothering to say words of comfort, and walked out of the house. Indeed, as the guard said, he could save the whole family, but he could not save everyone. This is the law of war, and there is not so much mercy.
And sympathy, if they don't pay food, the army will starve, it's that simple...
…
The banquet in the military camp was held after seven o'clock at night. It was called a dinner, but it was actually a gathering of several lords and commanders, eating better food than ordinary soldiers, and discussing the next step.
The Blood Hand Mercenary Group was temporarily repulsed, but after the coalition forces left, the towns around Erengrad surrendered to the rebels one after another, and the siege of Warlow Castle was lifted. The fire of rebellion grew stronger and stronger, so much so that the Snow Queen could not
Instead of bringing the kingdom's elite troops to the front line in person. This is also the first time in the past twenty-three years that Ice Queen Katerina has left the Winter Palace to go out in person. The last time the Queen left the palace was because of the large number of ratmen appearing underground in Erengrad City.
thing.
"Lords, thank the gods, we are about to join the Queen's elite army. After all, the rebels of Erengrad are just a group of bandits and robbers. They will be defeated by the powerful magic and army of the Ice Queen."
At the dinner, Cohen held up a glass of wine and praised the queen's greatness to everyone. However, most of the lords silently despised him in their hearts. As the queen's spokesperson and the commander of the legion, in the end, it was up to the queen herself to take action...
...What is the use of this general? Not as useful as the previously unknown Lord of Blackhammer Castle. If it weren't for him, the entire Northern Alliance might have fallen apart. Of course, Rhode's skyrocketing reputation has also made some lords feel unwilling to do so.
For example, Count Hillel, who has always regarded himself as the King of the North.
"Thank the gods, thank the queen."
Although they were full of contempt, everyone still raised their glasses in a friendly manner to celebrate the upcoming victory.
Rhodes was a little sad. He was still thinking about the scene during the day. If the entire Kislev army was like this and the soldiers and civilians couldn't work together, then if Chaos invades in the future, how can this country stop the Chaos army?
pace? Will it be directly bulldozed like in history? Fortunately, there are still several decades before the end of the Middle Ages, enough time for you to do something...
"But what we must see is that the crisis is still there, the enemy is still there, and many overestimated castle lords refuse to support us. We should have completely defeated them and flattened their castles. However, the Snow Queen is so kind
, she hopes that we will give them a chance, a chance to change their ways and turn from darkness to light."
Grand Duke Cohen continued to spit at the dinner table. Of course, most people still just listened. His prestige was declining day by day. If it were not for the identity of the Grand Duke of Kislev, these northern lords would not be able to speak at all.
They didn't want to hear any more nonsense from him, they wanted to hear some honest words from Rhodes...
"What's the new mission?"
Edmund, Lord of Binglan Castle, asked directly. Cohen was disgusted with this man. Like Rhodes, he always had a thorny head. Although there was no disrespect on the surface, his words and tone made people feel deeply.
Unhappy. According to the information from the spies, Edmund and Rhodes seem to have a very good relationship. The two often get together to drink and quarrel.
They have the same bad taste... Cohen cursed secretly.
"Yes, a new mission. Duke Cyril, Baron Edmund, Rhodes, Baron Digel..." Cohen read everyone's name, but when he read Rhodes, he didn't even have a name.
No, any smart person can hear this deep malice.
"Tomorrow I will leave here and go to Winterscar Castle to join Brooks' army. At the same time, I will wait there for the Ice Queen's army. But before that, we have one more thing to do, and that is to conquer Grizzly Bear Castle."
Cohen took a sip of wine and said loudly.
"This castle is located between Wintermark Castle and Kislev City. Damn it, we can't let the Snow Queen pass by this castle and send people to eradicate it, right? The arrogant Baron Benedick is really crazy.
Oh, he actually ignored the encirclement and suppression of the rebels. According to the Snow Queen, we must take back this castle, but we must also give him a chance for redemption."
Cohen thought. The lords in the north are not fools. Almost everyone knows that this is not the truth. Judging from Catalina's character, in the past, anyone who dared not support her would be silenced and bloody.
Suppression. The reason why we didn’t do this this time is just that the kingdom’s army has too much time to do it. Attacking the city requires a lot of time, manpower and material resources. The war is urgent. Even the Snow Queen herself doesn’t want to waste time attacking these cities.
On top of the small fortress, the euphemistically called benevolent persuasion to surrender was just because the gain outweighed the loss by forcefully attacking the city.