Chapter 617: A good helper for settling accounts
Time gradually passed, the wind became stronger and stronger, and the weather became colder and colder.
For the observation post on the mountain, a large and deep pit and communication trench were dug, logs were propped up on top, and the entire area was piled with stones, which could not only prevent the enemy from aerial reconnaissance, but also block the biting wind.
Today, Archduke Suarez, accompanied by Eugene, came over to take a look. He first went up the mountain from the magic crystal mine, got into the traffic trench at the exit above the mine, and then entered the observation post.
"It smells so good!" He asked about the strong aroma as soon as he looked out, "What's stewed in the pot?"
Today is Crom's shift. Metzger heard that a leader was coming, so he came early and immediately saluted and reported: "Sir, the pot contains fat meat, golden beans, and dried pumpkin."
Grand Duke Suarez opened the lid of the pot and saw a few pieces of fat meat in the pot with half of his face exposed among the beans. He nodded and said, "It's better to eat more fat meat when the weather is cold."
"This stove of yours is interesting."
The stove in the outpost has wood burning in the middle, and a space around it is used to hold water. It can not only cook and heat, but also provide hot water.
Grand Duke Suarez finished looking at the stove and walked to the observation point of the outpost. There were two refracting telescopes almost the size of human legs, which could clearly see Count Sampaio's castle in the distance.
There is a map in the middle of the telescope, which is divided into grids with straight lines, and each row and column is numbered.
Grand Duke Suarez saw the benefits of planting maps at a glance. When there are multiple maps, you only need to report the coordinates, and others will be able to find the corresponding place immediately.
Behind the telescope are several communicators, which are making routine reports at this time. Any clues on the other side can be discovered immediately.
Archduke Suarez was very satisfied with this post, and many of the enemy's arrangements could be seen at a glance.
It's not that he hasn't thought about setting up an outpost here, but the communication methods were limited in the past and he couldn't transmit the information to the bottom of the mountain in time.
Therefore, he also lost the opportunity to discover the mine.
"There have been some rumors here recently." Archduke Suarez said to Eugene, "Some people say that the Kingdom of Madeira will not attack, but that you are here to harm my grain depot."
"I followed the rumors and found many pagan spies. Do you want to pass on any information?"
Eugene thought for a while and said: "Let's just say we are here to make money."
He added: "We have made a lot of progress recently regarding food."
"We sent troops to plunder villages and towns. Last month we robbed 500 tons and bought 4,000 tons, as well as many livestock. The other party reported a loss of 6,000 tons to the king and settled the account."
"Now many distant towns are also looking for us. When our troops go there, they pretend to attack the city, knock down the empty city wall for an hour or two, and then they send the things out."
"I'm worried they have some conspiracy."
It happens occasionally to settle accounts through war, but now it's not just one or two, but many, which makes people suspicious.
Archduke Suarez twitched the corner of his mouth, shook his head and said: "Those nobles close to the front line have two functions. They are mainly used as shields when I attack, and they delay time with their lives."
"The second is to raise food and grass. When the army comes here, the food they have accumulated in the past will be used."
"It worked quite well for the first ten years, but then it stopped working."
"In the past ten years or so, King Doss of the Kingdom of Madeira has grown older, and his children have all grown up. The issue of heirs has begun to affect internal affairs, so he no longer takes the initiative to attack me."
"It's the same here. When my attention shifts to the country, I don't have the energy to take the initiative."
"The wars here in the past ten years have only been minor ones. In addition, you sold the good stuff from the Principality of Wesson. They smuggled food to me in order to have money to buy it."
"Who would have thought that Doss actually agreed to Old Louis' request and suddenly sent troops, disrupting the positions of many people."
"There are strict requirements on the amount of grain stored there. When the army arrives, it must provide a certain amount of grain and grass. The problem is that they can't fill such a big hole now, and they will lose their heads."
"It's just right for you to take the initiative and help them settle their accounts."
"Losing the battle is just a matter of ability. Bribing the palace ministers will only result in symbolic punishment."
"Selling food to me means betraying the king and will lead to death." "It's not just the lord who will die, but the relevant bureaucrats will also die together. This will let those people fool the higher ups together."
"You don't have to worry too much. It's too late for them to invite you, and they won't and don't dare to harm you."
Eugene breathed a sigh of relief, since it was not a conspiracy.
However, he did not take it lightly and still asked the team to act according to wartime standards to avoid being lured and eliminated by the enemy with bait.
Archduke Suarez said to Eugene when he was coming down the mountain: "For some reason, the army of the Kingdom of Gaul has been silent this year, which is beyond my expectation. Do you have any clues?"
Eugene shook his head. He couldn't understand the situation in the Kingdom of Gaul at the moment.
When the people in the mountain post saw their leader leaving, they breathed a sigh of relief. Then it was lunch time.
A kind of rice brought from the south still has clear grains after being steamed. Before going up the mountain in the morning, I pack a box of rice and then ask someone from the mage group to dehydrate it. Now I pour it into the hot soup and soak it for a while to make a delicious hot lunch.
Crom was responsible for dividing the dishes for everyone. He first scooped the soup into the lunch box to soak the rice, then fished out the fat meat and put five pieces per person on the rice, and finally scooped out the beans and pumpkin slices.
Zikr mixed the rice and vegetables evenly, ate a piece of fat meat, and felt very satisfied. He said to Zobel next to him: "Someone in our village used to say that the king's life is to eat a piece of fat meat every day."
While eating, Zobel said: "I had never eaten fatty meat before coming to Wesson, but I had eaten lard twice."
Metzger smiled and said: "Hey, we used to hear that old Mr. Wesson used lard to spread bread and eat it every day."
Zikr asked curiously: "Is it true or false?"
An operator operating the communicator said: "It's true."
"My father has always been a guard of the castle. He said that old Mr. Wesson would spread lard on slices of bread and bake them over the fire in winter, so that the lard would slowly melt into the bread."
Metzger thought for a while and said: "This will make the bread softer."
"Nowadays, there are more and more rich people, and they eat well. In the past, bread had to be cut with a saw, but now lard is put in the bread, which is said to be softer."
Then he was despised by everyone, and he was the richest person here.
After everyone finished eating while chatting and laughing, they suddenly found that the wind outside gradually became lighter and almost stopped around three o'clock in the afternoon, and the sky suddenly became clear.
Crom immediately asked Zobel to check the shading plates of the telescopes. These two telescopes were very precious and could only be maintained by college students. It was difficult for Zickel to even touch them.
The post faces the west, and when the sun sets in the west, the reflection of sunlight on the telescope lens will cause the post to be exposed.
Metzger came to a telescope and looked across. A column of smoke rose to the right of Count Sampaio's castle.
He asked Crom: "How many bakeries are there at Castle No. 1? When are the breads baked?"
Crom immediately replied: "There is a bakery on the north side of the castle. They bake bread from about 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every March 69th."
Metzger asked again: "Are there any birds in the woods now?"
Crom replied: "There are a few more, not many."
Metzger said to him: "Pay attention to these, the bakery and the birds can reflect many problems."
After Metzger left, Zickel asked Crom: "Squad leader, I know the more smoke in the bakery means the more toast, but why does the company commander want to watch the birds? It's normal for birds to fly around in the woods. ?”
Crom replied: "There is a difference between a normal flock of birds that change places and a flock of birds that are frightened. A flock of birds that changes places often has only one kind of bird. A flock of frightened birds sometimes has several kinds of birds. They fly. The direction and speed are also different.”
Zikkel had never paid attention to this aspect before, and it made sense after thinking about it carefully.
Crom patted him on the shoulder and said: "Ask and learn more about things you don't understand. Don't always focus on the tailor's little daughter."
Zikr's face suddenly turned red, and he hesitated in his defense, and the outpost burst into cheerful laughter.
(End of chapter)