Chapter 124 The end of the long and hard-earned road
On the edge of the territory of the Duke of Kush, Joan of Arc, there is a place called Wild Boar Ridge. After crossing Wild Boar Ridge, you will find the Wild Spider Forest.
It was an inaccessible place. Not only was the land barren, but there was also the risk of being attacked by giant spiders.
If it weren't for the Mayo Mountain Mine next to it, almost no one would live nearby.
Today, the Yezhuling Mountain Trail, which has been in disrepair for a long time, welcomed a new group of travelers.
The blue sky drew a thin line above the canyon, and under the milky white clouds, several goshawks were circling.
At the front were thirty soldiers wearing black cloaks. Under the black cloaks were bright silver breastplates. The daggers at their waists hit the armor, making a clanging sound.
Many people not only have red and blue thin belts on their bodies, but also have hundreds of bags hanging on their waists. They are dusty and tired, like beggars who robbed the weapons arsenal.
Three brigades of Guards soldiers, holding the sun flag representing the Pope, walked at the forefront.
Behind them were the citizens of the Papal State wearing uniform gray and white robes. The senators held the canes of senators and followed silently behind the citizens.
Although the footsteps of these people are messy, there is an unexpected order and neatness in their progress.
Besides them were wheels turning, and oak leather panels were hung on one side of the ten carts.
The carts and oak leather panels were scarred with scratches and holes, as well as signs of corrosion from liquids.
The soldiers walking on both sides of these carriages also held very strange iron-clad long sticks in their hands, and they didn't know what to use them for.
Although there are not many residents near Boar Ridge, there are militia brotherhoods and hunters.
Along the way, you can often see scattered militiamen or hunters looking at the papal kingdom's convoy from both sides of the mountain.
"I finally left the Wild Spider Forest, and the long journey of blood and sweat has been completed." Looking at the increasingly open valley road in front of him, Horn couldn't help but sigh.
Jeanna looked at the long road in front of her and sighed with the same emotion: "Yes, it is finally over."
Starting on October 2, 1444 in the Imperial Calendar, and now on October 31, It took 29 days to complete the 450-mile journey.
Twelve hundred villagers climbed all the way over the high mountains, seized passes and built bridges, deceived the encircling mercenaries, ran across the King's Road, passed through the Black Bone Swamp and the Wild Spider Forest, and finally Got here.
In front of you is Mount Mayo, and 45 miles southwest from the town of Mount Mayo is Castle Joan of Arc.
That is the end of this journey.
Obviously it was only 29 days, but Horn felt as if a long time had passed.
He even felt like he was in another world, especially when they came from the narrow and steep mountain road to the gentle plain.
There are flowers on both sides of the road, birds are chirping softly, and there is no danger of pursuing soldiers or roaring cranes.
It seems like everything has changed, and it seems like nothing has changed.
"Is there any new news from Sissi and Carrie?" Horn asked Jeanne on horseback, facing the front.
“Not yet.”
One day ago, before crossing the Wild Boar Ridge, Horn had already sent Sissy and Carrie to notify the Ruoan Party and the White Mountain Hermitage respectively. meeting.
According to the news and progress, Sissi contacted the White Mountain Monastery, but Carrie had a small problem with the identity verification.
This means that Horn and others may need to stay in the town of Mount Mayo for one night, and then send someone to pick them up after the two of them confirm their identities with Castle Joan of Arc.
The nearby lords have notified the people in the town, but the townspeople are afraid and are unwilling to let Horn and others enter the town, so they can only camp outside the town.
Don’t let armed men enter cities and towns. This is the truth that the people of this world have learned through countless lessons of blood and tears.
Horn raised his head and looked at the small town at the foot of the mountain in the distance.
The spire of the chapel stands erected under the sky, and on the mountain road, there is an endless stream of ant-like miners.
They pushed wheelbarrows to transport the ore, turning it into pieces of iron ore from the iron smelting factory at the foot of the mountain.
The mountains surrounding the town are filled with raw materials for iron smelting potions.
It might as well stay here for one night, Horn thought to himself.
What if they run over rashly and are regarded as bandits?
When you arrive at the town of Mount Mayo, you can rest and do some shopping.
During this period of time, Horn and the others were almost running out of supplies, leaving only a very small amount of food.
Seeing that November is almost here, I need to add some more clothes.
If all goes well, after receiving supplies here, they will go to Castle Joan of Arc and meet Duke Dane of Kush. In the small town of Mayo, I can just collect some information.
To be honest, Horn doesn’t know Duke Dardenne very well.
However, the refugees, including Madeleine and Jeshka, were very fond of the Duke of Dardenne.
"What kind of person is this Duke of Dardenne?" Horn whispered softly.
“The Duke of Kush is different from other lords.” After hearing Horn’s murmur, Madeleine introduced with a smile, “Because his manor was occupied too much, he had to develop a workshop to maintain... ..."
Listening to Madeleine's narration, Horn nodded, and began to recall the descriptions of Sissi, Madeleine and others in his mind.
Compared to normal lords, the majority of the Duke of Dardenne's income comes from iron smelting and casting, including winemaking and various agricultural and sideline products.
Duke Dardenne has been investing in and building workshops and shops in various places since his grandfather, and he basically does not focus on real estate.
Because he has the title of Duke but basically no real estate.
The farmers on his property basically have no complaints against him because he operates a subcontracting system.
He will subcontract the fields to businessmen, and the businessmen will recruit refugees to cultivate the land on a daily basis.
Of course, if the laborers cannot complete the farming tasks, the contractor will not pay them or reduce their wages by half.
This resulted in more than 40,000 people living near Fort Joan of Arc, nearly 30,000 of whom were migrant workers.
Due to the existence of the Labor Law and the Fugitive Slave Law, workers’ wage security and personal safety are not very good.
However, due to Duke Dardenne's strong military strength, coupled with his special status, the public security environment is relatively good, so there are not many security issues in the area of Fort Joan of Arc.
Migrant workers will rarely be robbed or trafficked by bandits and robber knights here, and merchants' wages will not be in arrears for too long.
Especially Qianhe Valley people can also get a lot of preferential treatment when litigating.
This is basically a working mecca for refugees, the Sanhe Talent Market in Qianhe River Valley.
But there are advantages and disadvantages. Human resources are relatively abundant, but labor wages are generally relatively low.
The Duke of Kush was unable to resist the "Fugitive Slave Law". If the "masters" of the refugees came over, he could only let the slave hunters take them away.
This has basically become a subsistence living area. The refugees can't afford food or get sick, so they go to Fort Joan of Arc to work as laborers for a period of time.
Because of this, he was often ridiculed as a refugee lord by other lords and ostracized by the aristocratic society.
Duke Dardenne is 35 years old this year. He has several illegitimate children and has not been able to marry a noble wife worthy of his status.
You must know that when aristocratic women get married in this era, the dowry is much higher than the bride price.
Coda offered a gift twice the price, but still no good aristocratic women were interested, and even encountered several fake aristocratic swindlers.
This behavior was also jokingly called high-price bidding by other nobles.
Judging from these remarks, Darnay is really a breath of fresh air among the lords.
After all, people know what they know but not what they know. Horn would not blindly follow rumors, but still had to investigate for himself.
These green-skinned insects followed him all the way and brought them here, so Horn naturally had to arrange them.
"Dear...guest." An old voice sounded, and Horn raised his head. It turned out to be a strong old man with a hunchback standing in front of the crowd.
"Who are you?" Das pulled out his dagger and stopped in front of the old man, "Back off!"
Looking at the sophisticated equipment and fierce aura of these soldiers, the hunchbacked old man swallowed He took a sip of saliva and put on a flattering smile.
"I am Gregory, the mayor of Mayo Town."
Horn rode on the horse and said to Das: "Let him come over."
"You are shocked, extremely Sorry."
The hunched old man immediately bowed and saluted. As he passed by, he quietly stuffed the two dinars into his bag.
“I’m here to welcome you into the campsite.”
(End of this chapter)