"This is already the fourth, and they don't give us food either?"

Edward rubbed his brow, and the color of his eyes darkened a little, as if he had been staying up for several days in a row.

"These guys won't even hand back the seed money we lent them before. ”

Grumbled angrily.

It's no wonder that the two siblings are impatient, since Thoreau's death, the food problem in the tribe has become a big problem, a large amount of grain and grass has been consumed remotely, and several tribes that have declined together with the expedition have been merged, these two things have made the already insufficient food even worse.

The only thing to be thankful for is that the expedition consumed a large number of young and middle-aged people, and the death of these most edible people objectively alleviated some of the food shortages, at least leaving time for Jan and Edward to go out and borrow food.

Under Thoreau's leadership, the people of the tribe had not experienced what it was like to be hungry for a long time. If Edward doesn't handle the food problem well, he will definitely be used by the elders of the clan to make a big fuss, and when the residents are scattered, the glory of the Campbell family will once again become history, and Thoreau's life's work will be ruined.

And that's exactly what the elders of the tribes and the small tribes who refuse to give food need. The growth of the Campbells threatens their survival, and the decomposing Buraku people can replenish their population. The value of the old men aside, women can be betrothed to warriors and work like men, and children will one day grow up, and they will be the most valuable treasure of the tribe.

Edward was more sober than his frizzy sister, who had learned to be cautious in his early years, and he had a premonition that the small tribes were plotting a plot to dismember the tribe, but he did not say it, but told his sister

"This spring's cold spring, it's not just our family who are unlucky, they don't necessarily have to pay off the bills, maybe there is really no surplus food. ”

Edward was also telling the truth, at this time, the tribes did not have much food left.

Yang also quickly woke up, and there was no way to delve into this problem. If this issue continues, it will cause another infighting in the Hozer Marsh, and no real winner will be found in the Campbell family and the rest of the tribes. The huge consumption of manpower will destroy the Weegand tribe in this swamp, and they are not strong enough to resist foreign invaders, let alone withstand the harsh living environment. Perhaps it doesn't take any foreign enemy to make a move, and the Weegand civilization on the Hope Marsh will be history.

Looking at his brother's sad expression, Yang suddenly had a plan in his heart.

"Maybe we can start with the Great Prus......" Jan was just about to start when he was interrupted by Edward.

"We have more than enough dead fighters. It will take us years to lick our wounds in the swamp before we can avenge our father. ”

Jan shook his head, "I'm not trying to light the war again, on the contrary, maybe we should try to talk to the Great Prussians, maybe they want peace." I'm not sure, but I'd like to try to get in touch with them. ”

Edward glanced at Jan deeply, the two sides had just fought a bloody battle, Jan as an officer who participated in the war, he was able to get in touch with the Great Prus privately, if she was not his sister, the first thing Edward thought about now was to hack Jan to death.

But it has to be said that Young's plan is very tempting, and if it succeeds, it will not only solve the food crisis, but perhaps in a few years it will also be able to complete the strategic plan that Thoreau failed to achieve.

Yes, in Thoreau's plan, he also wanted to do business with the Great Prussians, but that was in the case of victory, and to sign some alliances with some panicked Great Pruus, instead of begging the Great Prussians in disgrace as he is now.

"Alright then, you can go and try. But until this matter is successful, you must keep it a secret. ”

After Edward's verbal support, Jan left the tribe alone.

Walking to the edge of the swamp, I saw that the sun had set little by little, and dusk had arrived.

Young watched through the cracks in the pine forest as the setting sun fell, curtailed its brilliance, and then left the clouds behind and slipped to the horizon alone. The clouds turn from crimson to pink, and eventually fade away. Jan reluctantly took a deep breath, as if he could smell the sun in this way.

Jan was a little stupid. I don't know how long it has been, but she hasn't seen the dusk so quietly. The people in the tribe said that she was a natural warrior, but to be a natural warrior came a price, for example, no great warrior would stare at the dusk and smirk, especially when he had something to do.

Speaking of priorities, although Jan has a candidate in his heart who can negotiate, how to overcome many obstacles and find this in the town of Valuno is still difficult.

The sound of horses' hooves reached Young's ears, and Jan, almost subconsciously, fell to the ground and hid in the shadow of a shrub. There was a little inexplicable shame in her heart, and she didn't know who disturbed her thoughts.

Young slowly calmed her breathing, imagining herself as a crocodile crawling on the ground, and when her prey arrived, she pounced on it and threw her under the horse. Jan is still the same Jan who will not hand over her life and death to the negligence of the enemy. If it was a group of knights, she might choose to dodge, but if only one came, it would be very different.

The knight turned his back to the sun and slowly headed in the direction of the swamp, as if he had lost his bearings, perhaps foreseeing some danger. The sunlight lengthened his shadow, and Yang couldn't see his figure, but judging by the trembling sound of the ground, it shouldn't be the kind of knight with an iron can.

Jan regretted a little, she regretted that she didn't bring a few throwing spears with her when she went out, and at this juncture, throwing spears can reduce a lot of risk. But she didn't, and she had to wait until the knight approached to give him a sudden look.

The knight turned his face to the bush, but he found no sign of Jan, at least from his actions, and Jan did not see any threat. The knight rode slowly to the bush, and the horse ate it merrily.

The knight turned his face to the swamp, as if looking out at something. Jan did not give up this perfect moment, she jumped out of the grass, threw the knight straight from her horse, and aimed the dagger in her hand at his throat.

The knight fell from his horse, and his body spun around for a while, and then fell heavily to the ground, crying out in pain.

Jan smiled when he saw the knight's face clearly

"Is that how you spared my life on the battlefield, Sentinel?"

The faint light of the setting sun reflected a large patch of red at the base of the girl's ear.

Jan saw the knight's face clearly, and the knight saw Young's clearly.

But they tacitly didn't speak, just quietly felt each other's breath and each other's heartbeat.

After about a century and so long, the knight opened his mouth in embarrassment

"Miss Young, you seem to be heavier than you look? ”

Jan got up from the knight's body with some shame, and casually pulled out the sword that the knight had inserted at his waist, and the saber showed a transparent shadow in the setting sun, obviously a good sword.

"If you hadn't met me, you'd have become a corpse, a corpse! Do you understand? Am I that annoying?"

As he spoke, Jan shifted his gaze to the horseman's face and pointed defiantly at the helpless knight with the sword in his hand.

"Am I that annoying, William?"

William took two steps back, and this time Jan was not wearing armor, only a single shirt, and it was a different situation from the last time they met.

Looking at the girl dancing in the sunset, William's face suddenly showed a smile, and even covered his innate sadness.

"No, you are beautiful, I have never seen a more beautiful girl than you. ”

Looking at William, who was full of stupidity, Jan suddenly asked, "Are you a valuable person on your side now?"

William took off his helmet and replied casually, "Maybe, after all, I should be the next mayor." ”

A smile appeared on Young's face, but the smile on her face was as fleeting as the dew falling into a pond.

"Turn back, take me to your town, I have something to talk about. ”

That night, the town's night watchman saw such a scene. It was a scene he will never forget.

The future mayor of their town has been kidnapped, and his kidnapper is a Wiegand girl who is a head shorter than William. The Wiegand girl didn't tie William with a rope, but pointed a sword at the back of William's neck and kept urging him forward.

William didn't see any signs of a fight on his body, except for some dust. He held his helmet in one hand and led the horse he had ridden when he had gone there. He went up to the night watchman and said generously:

"Good evening, sir. As you can see, I have been kidnapped, and my captors want to go into town to talk to my father, please let us in. ”

The Night's Watch wanted to go back and report it, but the girl didn't give him a chance, and raised her sword as if she were going to stab William to death and die with their future mayor, so he had no choice but to open the gates and let the two men in.

The Night's Watch took William's horse and took William's helmet. In the moonlight, William and Jan walked one after the other through the streets of Valuno, followed by several heavily armed soldiers.

At this time, it was almost dark, and the soldiers standing behind them all had torches in their hands, only Jan and William took advantage of the faint light of the moon to walk towards William's house step by step.

"Jan, further on is my house. ”

William was facing forward, his expression a little yearning.

"I've grown up here, and although I've been on a few trips with my father, I don't think it's as good as this anywhere. ”

Jan stood behind William, curiously surveying everything in the town.

"When I was a child, I heard my father tell me about the appearance of your town of Great Prus, and I have not been able to see it with my own eyes until today, and sure enough, it is not as beautiful as the burned town. ”

The two have spoken no more than twenty words since they met, but they talk like friends who have been friends for many years.

Step by step, the two of them walked to the end of the street, where William's house was. William's father has been in business for many years and has little family assets, so William's home is a slightly imposing small mansion.

William walked to the door, but suddenly turned around and smiled brightly at Young.

"Welcome Miss Young to my home. ”

The blade reflected the moonlight, stabbing a little shiny and shooting into William's pale blue eyes, but it could not hide the excitement and tenderness in his eyes.

Looking at this energetic and silly young man, he muttered

"The moon is bright, it's useless to be bright, it's useless to be bright. (Internet noun is good.) ）

This was a conversation that the adjutant had told her back then, and of course the adjutant was the one who spoke first, but she never understood what the adjutant meant. Jan tried to ask his father, but his father first asked who had told her, and she was clever enough not to tell Thoreau, and Thoreau did not tell his daughter the mystery, but only to his daughter.

"One day you will say it to someone, and then you will understand the meaning of it. ”

The door to William's house creaked open, and Hams, a timber merchant from Valuno, and his wife walked out, surrounded by several townspeople.

William had returned to being held hostage, and this time, Jan put his sword directly on William's neck, which was somewhat funny, because William was a head and a half taller than Young, and Jan had to poke his head out of the side of his body in order to make her visible to the other side of the negotiation.

"Bring a torch. ”

The girl poking her head out from the side said.

A soldier with a torch looked at Hams, and after receiving an affirmative answer, the soldier walked up to William and Young, and everyone saw Young's appearance clearly.

A very beautiful girl, Hams said in his heart. He thought about it as he made up his mind to fight the embarrassment.

"I'm a businessman, I've been to many places, I've met a lot of girls, and honestly, none of them can compare to your looks. ”

Hams praised Young as he stole at Young's facial expression, hoping to see some changes. Shy, disgusting, contrived seriousness.

These are all techniques learned at the negotiating table, and Hams can guess what is in a person's mind by observing the changes in his expression, and then say it in a negotiation. Many people think that the first person to speak will lose, but Hams doesn't think so, and he has already earned one piana gold coin after another by his skills. But alas, he couldn't see anything from his almond-colored eyes. He had no choice but to continue.

"So, pretty Wiegand girl, you must have asked for something by holding my son hostage and visiting late at night? ”