Chapter 19, The First Batch of Leading Parties (Part 2)
In a small valley at the foot of Arnus Hill, hundreds of tents were surrounded by barbed wire, forming a separate camp. During the day, more than 800 local aborigines sheltered by Wang Qiu and others were temporarily resettled here. The young magician Lelai, who had just finished the inquiry and was allowed to come back to rest, was wearing a priest-like gray-white hooded robe, looking at the various strange things appearing around her with curious and anxious eyes.
"...Are these...human beings from another world? How powerful they are! The empire actually wants to rob them..."
Standing outside the door of the refugee camp, I looked at the "steel monsters" that were still rumbling even at night, and the "Tower of the Gods" illuminated by spotlights on the top of Arnus Hill in the distance. "Door", Lelai, a young magician with short aqua hair, couldn't help but lean on her Magic Wand, murmured to herself - Although she is only fifteen years old this year, compared to those villagers who have never left their hometown several times in their lives, she once traveled across the Falmat continent as a magic apprentice. Lelai, who has lived in many cities around the world, is definitely well-informed.
However, Lelai was deeply shocked by the human army from another world that appeared on the Arnus Hill. In her memory, even the most prosperous imperial capital on the continent, Urabianca City, or the most academically atmosphere Rendel, a city rich in knowledge, does not have such bright lights at night. Even in a majestic temple that spares no effort to light a lamp all day long, it is impossible for it to be as bright as daylight even in the middle of the night like the Arnus Hill at this moment - however, this place in front of us is so brightly lit and as bright as a sea of stars. But it's not a metropolis that took hundreds of years to be slowly built, but just a temporary camp that these aliens quickly built in less than a day!
What’s even more frightening is that for these humans from another world, such lights seem to be just a common thing...
In addition, the abundant logistical supplies of this alien army also shocked Lelei, who was used to seeing the banditry of various armies on the Falmat continent. On the Falmat continent, due to the society, Due to low productivity and insufficient material reserves, the daily supplies of most armies are in embarrassment. Especially when going to war, because the logistics and transportation capabilities cannot keep up, even the regular armies of various countries often need to collect supplies by looting enemy civilians in order for the soldiers to eat rations on time. And in order to march quickly, officers often issued orders to reduce food rations. If unfortunately they reach barren mountains and ridges where there is no food to plunder, then the soldiers often have to go through the day hungry and full. Even for the city defense troops stationed in the city, it is common for them to engage in petty theft to make extra money.
However, the alien army that appeared on Arnus Hill was so wealthy that it could be called wealthy. Putting aside those things that even I can't understand, just the metal consumed on a steel chariot like theirs is enough for the empire to build a legion of swords, right? And those "metal golems" that roared and excavated the earth and laid the foundation were even more powerful existences that Lelai couldn't understand at all.
Also, the food and clothing provided by this army to ordinary soldiers would make even a magician like her feel jealous. Lelai had never seen many of the things that people from other worlds ate, so she couldn’t evaluate their quality for the time being. But just the relief rations allocated to the refugees in Gota Village have already stunned the villagers in these remote areas: the staple food given to them by the outsiders is not the common hard semolina cake or black bread of the villagers, let alone that They grow barley porridge mixed with many weeds, but white bread that only nobles or rich people can afford to eat regularly! The refugees could not help but exclaim in excitement at the soft texture they had never experienced before and the sweet taste brought by the large amounts of sugar and cream.
Next, each refugee was given a piece of fried salted fish and a large bowl of broth sprinkled with plenty of spices and salt, with many unknown vegetables added to the soup (borscht). After dinner, the men in green from another world also distributed to the children some crystal-pure sugar cubes (single crystal rock sugar)... For the barren Gota Village, apart from the lack of alcohol, , this kind of meal is already at the level of a holiday feast! Even Leilai, who had attended several noble banquets and dances, felt that these people in green clothes from another world were really particular about eating and drinking.
Although in the communication with these people from other worlds, the young magician Lelai already knew that opposite the "door" is a prosperous port in their country, so their current supply line is naturally very smooth, and there is no risk of lack of food and clothing. But Lelai could also tell that even with the power of the empire, even in the imperial capital of Urabianka City, it would be very difficult to mobilize so many supplies and equipment in one go.
From this, we can see how powerful and wealthy the human country behind the "door" will be... Although we have not really seen this army fighting, it is difficult to measure its combat effectiveness, but just by looking at them, they can easily kill them. The flame dragon that has brought trouble to the Falmat continent for thousands of years, as well as so many gleaming metal equipment in the camp, and even being rich enough to use steel to support the tent, are enough to prove that their combat effectiveness is by no means weak.
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——No matter in which era, there is some simple mathematical standard used to measure the strength of an army. Although it is impossible to accurately display the combat effectiveness every time, it is usually not too far off. In the age of firearms, this standard is the consumption of gunpowder, in the age of mechanized warfare it is the consumption of fuel, in the age of nuclear warfare it is the total yield of strategic nuclear weapons, in the digital age it is the sum of the total frequency of the processor... and in the older Iron and Bronze Ages , the most intuitive standard to measure the strength of an armed force is naturally the total weight of metal consumption...
What? Still have to think about magic? The magicians in Falmat Continent are not that powerful. They do not have any great power to destroy the world. They have not even developed teleportation and flying skills. In terms of actual combat effectiveness, they are at best the same as those in "Harry Potter". 》The British wizards in the plot world are similar, or even slightly inferior. Even the magicians who accompany the empire rarely directly fight with fireballs. However, they are somewhat unique in logistics, communications and reconnaissance. In terms of status in the army, they are probably equivalent to the senior craftsmen carried by ancient armies on earth. .
All in all, compared to most time-travel novels, those pauper protagonists usually only bring a backpack, or at most a "system", or even bare buttocks with nothing, so they have to go to other worlds alone to create an exciting life. , the Chinese alien advance team currently entrenched on the Arnus hills can be described as out-and-out super rich. And the gold-earning cheating players who use cheat cheats: Not only do they have a large number of people and soldiers, but they also have a full set of mechanized equipment, from tanks and armored vehicles to drones, and there is an unobstructed path behind them. Logistics and supply lines, as well as a large industrialized country with a population of more than one billion, can receive all-round support from material equipment to technical talents at any time.
In addition, considering that this is likely to be the last time to travel to another world in the foreseeable future, the relevant departments have not hesitated to take out almost all the remaining black technology props from the Doraemon plane - anyway After this time, there will be no chance to use it again. Now, because the survey and mapping work of the terrain and soil has not been completed, and the large-scale construction project has not really started, the camp near Arnus Hill is a little "simple". After the expert team comes up with the design and planning plan, relying on those completely unscientific black technology props from the Doraemon plane, even if they want to build a modern city directly around Arnus Hill, it will only take a few days. Things done. (Refer to the speed at which Nobita Nobita and his gang of elementary school students built a city on the clouds in just one or two weeks in "Doraemon: Doraemon and the Kingdom of Clouds".)
Therefore, in the following days, there will be more and more things that surprise the blue-haired magician Lelai and the local indigenous refugees...
In addition, what makes Lelai even more puzzled and puzzled is that the two headhunting rabbit priestesses who have sheltered the refugees for many days actually seem to be very familiar with the aliens from the other side of the "door". Seeing He showed no surprise at the strange things happening on Arnus Hill, and he also helped people from other worlds everywhere. Talking... This made Lelai couldn't help but secretly speculate: Do these humans who are said to come from another world have some unknown secret relationship with the headhunting rabbit clan on the grasslands in the northeastern part of the Falmat continent? Will they have any influence on Falmat? The current situation in Matt Continent has had some impact...
——Of course, the reason for such considerations does not mean that Lelai is very concerned about the country and the people. In fact, the city she was born in was conquered by the empire by force only a few years ago. Therefore, Lelai had no sense of belonging to the empire that claimed to have unified the Falmat continent. But no matter what, she is also a pure-blooded human being, and she belongs to a different camp from the orc tribe like the Headhunter Rabbit.
But now she was living under someone else's roof, and she had never believed that she was obligated to be loyal to the empire. Moreover, the two headhunting rabbit priestesses who looked a little suspicious were the great benefactors who saved her and so many people in Gota Village. With Lelai's moral quality, she couldn't do such crazy things to them as repaying kindness with enmity just based on an unreliable conjecture. So in the face of all these shocking new experiences on Arnus Hill, Lelai didn't know how to deal with and judge for a while. For the time being, it seemed that she could only take one step at a time...
Taking one last look at the Arnus hills, which were illuminated brightly by high-power iodine tungsten lamps, she sighed quietly, turned around and walked into the refugee camp.
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At this moment, it was already the dead of night. Hundreds of indigenous refugees, who had traveled long distances with their luggage and worked hard all day, were already exhausted from being frightened, not eating enough and sleeping well for so many days. After eating, they got into their tents and wrapped themselves up. He slept soundly on the blanket provided by the People's Liberation Army. The entire refugee camp was filled with thunderous snoring.
Lelai originally planned to get into the tent allocated to her to rest, but she accidentally discovered that the old village chief of Gota Village was not sleeping. Instead, he was sitting cross-legged outside the door of his tent, drinking a small silver flask from his collection. While drinking wine, he looked worriedly at the spotlight lighting up the night sky not far away.
"...Grandpa Village Chief, it's already so late, why don't you rest?" After a moment of silence, Lelai greeted.
"...Ahem, it turns out it's Lelei! Ahem, I can't help it, it's too bright outside, I really can't sleep! Ahem!"
Because Lelai's footsteps were too light, the old village chief, who was thinking about something, didn't notice at all. As a result, he was caught off guard and choked. After coughing for a while, the old village chief put down the silver wine flask beside his mouth, stopped coughing, wiped the wine stains around his mouth, calmed down and asked, "...Um...Lelai, what are you doing?" Are you being kept here by those men in green? They haven’t given you any trouble, right?”
"...Nothing, they were very polite, they just asked me a lot about this continent, and why on earth did the empire open a door to their underwater harbor on the Arnus Hill? According to these According to the man in green from another world, this gate suddenly appeared in the water near the dock of a seaport city in their country, turning the entire harbor into a maelstrom and paralyzing it for four months. "
Lelai replied, "...until recently, they finally built a dam to stop the sea water from leaking, and then sent people over to investigate."
Hearing these words, the old village chief felt very uncomfortable in his heart - as a man whose home was destroyed by this "foreign flood" pouring out of the "door" and his wife and two sons were drowned, The remaining young son was also lost on the way to escape and his whereabouts were unknown. He completely became a victim of the lonely old man. It is impossible to say that the old village chief has no resentment towards these visitors from another world. But thinking about it carefully, it seems that the people in green can't be blamed for this matter. After all, they didn't open this "door" - from the perspective of these people in green, something inexplicably appeared in their harbor. A door would paralyze shipping, and maybe even suck in the boats and swimmers. This would be called a disaster, right?
Nowadays, these men in green from the other world on the other side of the "door" obviously have such powerful force that they can easily kill even beasts like the Flame Dragon. However, they do not wantonly retaliate against their own imperial subjects, but instead treat them generously and diligently. Taking care of her is already very polite.
What's more, the empire originally planned to send troops to plunder the wealth of the other world opposite the "door", but it turned out to be self-defeating, and it ended up like this. It can only be said that it was self-destruction and could not blame others... After careful calculation, , the old village chief of Gota Village found helplessly that in the end, he, who unfortunately suffered the disaster of destroying his family and destroying his family, seemed to have no choice but to blame the emperor and the Senate for this debt. He couldn't help but burst into tears for a while...
"...Ahem, then, Lelai, how did you answer those men in green?" After sighing for a moment, the old village chief asked nervously.
"...Of course I'm telling the truth. Such a big thing can't be hidden at all. Not to mention the two Headhunting Rabbit Priests!"
Lelai replied calmly, "...I just told them all the news I know about the empire's expedition."
"...This...sigh! I also know that such a big thing cannot be hidden, but if they know that the goal of the empire's opening is to attack and plunder their world...then what will happen next? Wouldn’t he be angry with us, the imperial subjects, and drive us out?”
The old village chief sighed to Leilai with a worried look on his face, "...the remaining people in the village have no way out now!"
——Although out of human beings' most basic vigilance, after this day's brief contact, they are still quite wary of these alien green-clothed people from the opposite side of the "door", and are also wary of the large numbers of people pouring out of the "door". Flood is quite resentful. But no matter what, it was these strange "men in green" who killed the flame dragon that threatened their lives when they were most desperate, and provided them with quite good shelter, food and safety. For these hundreds of people No. has been having bad luck recently, and for the poor villagers who have narrowly escaped death several times in a row, this is already a paradise-like enjoyment.
In fact, according to the old village chief, the living conditions in this refugee camp today are even better than those in Gota Village. Although I was sleeping in a tent now, it was far cleaner than the shabby rooms in the cottages that were full of bedbugs and fleas, and it didn't leak at all. The man in green gave him a steel cup and bowl for eating and drinking. It looked so smooth and shiny. Even if it was placed in a big city like the Imperial Capital, only the upper class could afford it. As for Gota Village Not to mention such a poor place. The lavender blanket that was wrapped around him to keep out the cold was also very exquisite and of the highest quality. Look at the workmanship, dyeing and pattern, as well as the silk wrapped around the edge of the blanket. According to the experience of the old village chief, each blanket like this can be sold for at least four or five goats in the market, even if it is the richest in the village. I'm afraid people are reluctant to buy it. However, these men in green on the Arnus Hill nonchalantly provided each refugee with such a blanket, even children could receive it.
——In the industrial era and the pre-industrial era, the value of a seemingly similar daily commodity in the eyes of ordinary people was very different.
Hey, if possible, the old village chief really doesn’t want to be forced to leave this good place where he has food, shelter, and adequate clothing, because for the vast majority of refugees who have nothing, such an outcome is almost equivalent to death—— The whole family of the old village chief had all died at the end. In the recent series of disasters, he has become a lonely man. He really does not want the few remaining people in the village to follow the same fate of death: the only problem is that refugees like him are on the opposite side of the "door" The man in green is neither a relative nor an acquaintance, so why should he let him keep supporting him?
"... Grandpa Village Chief, please rest assured, those people in green are very generous, and they have promised to continue to provide relief to all of us."
Lelai comforted the old village chief dryly and said, "...In addition, they also promised to build a house for us to live near Arnus Hill..."
"...The man in green from another world promised to build us a house? The address is in the Arnus hills?"
The old village chief was not as optimistic as Lelai, but frowned and looked around, "... This news is good... But even with the help of the man in green, we can rebuild in this place After leaving the village, how will we live on in the future? The land near Arnus Hill is the most barren place in this area, and it is impossible to grow crops. Now that it has been soaked in salt water, no grass will grow in the future. Not good.
Moreover, almost all the strong men and young men in the village are dead, the livestock and farm tools are gone, the money and food have long been exhausted, and only a group of girls, widows, children and us old guys are left. , where can I still have money to buy seeds? I don’t even have the energy to open up wasteland! ”
Regarding this, Lelai was silent for a while, and then slowly spoke, "...Village Chief Grandpa, you should know that in some cases, the military itself is the most generous customer. In a difficult world, Even women and children who have nothing can still find a way to survive by relying on the army..."
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——Although the above words of the young magician Lelei were very obscure, the old village chief understood her meaning in an instant.
Seriously, how could a person like him who has lived to this age not understand what those women who lost their homes and property during the war would do to the soldiers of the victorious side in order to keep themselves and their children alive? Business - isn't it just selling one's body to make money?
Although most women from good families would not be willing to do such a thing if they had a choice, once they are desperate, relying on selling their skin and flesh to make a living will become a natural choice for women: this is already the case in peacetime, This is especially true in years of war and disaster.
——When your life is almost gone, how can you care about dignity and chastity?
Even in ancient China, which believed that "starving to death is a small matter but being dishonest is a big deal", whenever wars and famines came, many more women sold themselves to women than committed suicide.
Generally speaking, soldiers of the regular army are very generous high-rollers: First of all, in order to win the war, except for some professionals who commit suicide, most generals and kings will donate generously during the war, so that the soldiers can get generous benefits. Military pay, bounties and trophies to stimulate their morale and Fighting spirit; secondly, because you need to face death at any time on the battlefield. After today, you don’t know if there will be tomorrow. Soldiers who have received coins rarely save them. Instead, they prefer to seize every opportunity while they are still alive. Spend money to enjoy, which is the so-called drinking today and getting drunk tomorrow. Therefore, even though the battlefield is full of dangers and lives may be lost at any time, there are still business groups and mobile gangs who are not afraid of death and follow the marching army for long distances, and even rush to the place where the army is preparing to camp, and spread out their respective Stalls are just for doing business with soldiers to make huge profits - such as buying trophies and prisoners from soldiers at low prices, and then selling them drinks, meat, sex services, etc. at high prices.
However, the refugees who have nothing at present do not have any goods to sell. The only thing they can sell is the women themselves.
Although the alien army of "men in green" currently stationed at Arnus Hill has not yet come into contact with any opponents, except for the defeated flame dragon, it is estimated that they have not obtained any spoils yet. But even so, judging from the "generous luxury" of these "men in green" from the other world, there should be no worries that their soldiers will now have no money to pay prostitutes - even if the coins on both sides are not interchangeable, as long as these men in green are willing to pay A few metal bowls and plates, or a few blankets and a few pieces of clothing can also be taken to the market in the city to exchange for money or barter!
In addition to the fact that young girls in the village can wash and cook for the soldiers, accompany them to bed and sell meat. Children may be able to earn a small income by serving them, while the few surviving old people should be able to use their rich experience to serve as guides for these unfamiliar visitors from other worlds... In short, Judging from the current situation, as long as you can lose face, it should not be difficult for the old, weak, women and children who have fled here to find a way to survive with the men in green from other worlds. The only thing to worry about is the punishment and revenge from the imperial government and local nobles in the future.
"...There is nothing we can do...The empire doesn't care about our life or death at all, and it has brought disaster to our village. And the lord who lives in the city really has no hope in this situation. What's more? Now even Gota Village is gone, and he is no longer our lord.”
After a moment of silence, the old village chief raised his neck, drank the remaining wine in the flask, wiped his mouth with his greasy sleeve, and muttered, "...Now if we still want to continue, The only hope for survival is the men in green on Arnus Hill. As for the future, I really can’t care about that much for the time being. I will talk to the girls and widows in the village tomorrow. Everyone is here now. Got here In such a situation, it is only thanks to these kind-hearted men in green that they can have food and shelter. They should have realized it... If those men in green have any use for my old bones, I will do it at any time. I can be their guide and lead the way. There is nothing unfamiliar to me on every mountain, every forest, and every stream nearby... Even if there is any danger, I am almost content to live to this age..."< br>
——In a colored steel mobile house hundreds of meters away, Political Commissar Guo, who was sorting out inquiry records under a desk lamp, would never have thought that some very discerning natives from other worlds would be recruited before he even opened his mouth. I have already decided to be their lackey and leader... No However, even if he knew it, he would probably just laugh it off and wait until tomorrow... Because at this time, he was concentrating on typing on the keyboard and writing a work document on his laptop to be submitted to his superiors: " Preliminary investigation report on another world."