The weather is getting warmer and the snow is melting.

The snow and ice melted in the northwest highlands into a gurgling stream, and the stream water gathered and poured into the river, and then divided into several branches in the low-lying land south of the Jumu crossing, and flowed all the way down the terrain to the southeast.

The flames of war were close in time, and it was briefly extinguished in winter, but as the weather warmed, the haze of war returned to the land with the resurgence of the river in the river.

The gray-haired Sam and his children came to the upper reaches of the river, especially the stones that had been piled up on the "harvest stones" last year, but only a few were missing, most of them were kicked away by the animals passing by to drink water, and under the remaining stones, some rough notches could be faintly seen, depicting the sacred emblem of the three gods of abundance in a crude way.

Sam stepped forward, and with an almost reverent demeanor, cleaned the stones from the harvest stones, and then took out the red ginger grass that he had brought with him, squeezed out the grass juice and smeared it on the emblem of the three gods of abundance, while the two sons took new stones of suitable size from the nearby riverbank, and placed them on the plane at the top of the harvest stones, and piled them into small piles, and when they had done this, the youngest daughter came and planted a green twig in the middle of the stones.

Sam bowed his head and whispered, "O goddess of spring, you are the first messenger of the month of recovery, may the red ginger grass stain the hem of your skirt and lead you to this land......"

The children bowed their heads together and prayed with their father.

In human beliefs, the god of abundance is composed of three different goddesses, the eldest sister is the mother goddess of the earth, Gaia, also known as the god of life and the mother of the earth, she rules the entire earth and all the plants that grow on the earth, the goddess of harvest Eve is the sister of the mother goddess of the earth, she specializes in the crops in the plants to protect the harvest of mortals, and the goddess of spring, Flora, is the youngest of the three gods of abundance, but also the most lively one -

The Ansu people believe that whenever the moon of revival comes, when the snow melts, the goddess of spring, Flora, will be the first to run out of her palace and come to the earth to find evidence of the end of winter, red ginger grass can attract the attention of this goddess, and the first green branches of the revival moon can make her happy, she will remember the location of each green branch, and after returning to the palace at the end of spring, she will tell the goddess of harvest what happened on the earth - the farmer's harvest for a year is guaranteed.

Almost all of the peasants believed in the three gods of abundance – even if they were also devotees of the gods of light or blood, and they did not neglect the worship of the god of abundance at the beginning of spring each year.

But it only relied on collecting three or five catties of extra grain...... Will you really be able to live with peace of mind?

After a short prayer, Sam raised his head, looked at the green branches that were gradually turning into dust and drifting away in the wind, and exhaled slightly: "The goddess has accepted our offerings, and this year's harvest will not be bad." ”

"Last year's harvest was not bad, but I was still hungry," the eldest muttered quietly, "the goddess can only bless the harvest, but she cannot help but be hungry." ”

"Don't talk nonsense in front of the gods!" Sam immediately turned his head and glared at his son, "That's because the noble lord is at war, of course we have to hand over the grain!" ”

The two sons glanced at each other, and then the younger son spoke: "Father, when I went out today, I saw the soldiers again, and they passed by the avenue on the north side and went to the east. ”

"That's Count Thorrin's cavalry," Sam said, shaking his head, and having been a farmer all his life, he didn't dare to get involved with the noble soldiers, "you didn't provoke them, did you?" ”

"I'm far away!" The youngest son's head shook vigorously, "They are very scary—they are all carrying swords that have never been seen before, wearing armor that they have never seen before, and they are riding on tall horses, and they are fierce. ”

“…… The weather is getting warmer day by day, and I'm afraid it's going to be a fight again. ”

Sam muttered, he knew what his youngest son meant by the swords and armor he had never seen before—he had seen a group of knights pass by the north side of the village a few days ago, and they were all dressed in different equipment than last year, and it was said that those swords and armor were all from the south, and Count Thorin seemed confident that the weapons created by the southerners would help him reclaim his territory and fortress, but these things were really difficult for the common people who were digging in the fields, and they were not interested in understanding.

He only hoped that this battle would be over quickly, or at least not continue to fight here, either the Kingdom Army would quickly drive out the Easterners, or the Easterners would quickly drive the Kingdom Army away, and it didn't matter who lost or won.

Last year, when the army of the Easterners reached the front of the giant wooden crossing, Count Thorin said that he wanted to organize a defense, so he collected a wave of grain from a neighboring village, but in the end he did not hold it, and was still beaten in by the Easterners.

When he came in, Prince Edmund confiscated the grain, but captured a third of the young men of the village to build roads, and several people died outside.

Halfway through the road, the Kingdom Army and the Holy Cult Army screwed together and fought back, driving the Easterners out of the Giant Wood Crossing, but this was not a good thing - in order to feed the knights and priests of the Holy Cult Army, Count Thorin collected another wave of grain.

Last year was a bumper harvest, an unprecedented bumper harvest, and every family received two or three percent more.

Ten people in the village died of starvation, and eight died of exhaustion from building roads.

So it's no wonder that the son would say such bold words in front of the gods.

"Go home, don't encounter water ghosts and evil spirits later," Sam shook his head, grabbing his tattered hat and buttoning it over his head, "There have been too many deaths lately, and the wilderness is getting more and more peaceful at night." ”

The children followed in their father's footsteps and walked along the relatively flat rocky beach on the bank of the river in the direction of the village, and the younger daughter followed the two elder brothers, and suddenly asked curiously: "I heard that John next door was selected to be a soldier, and the knight lord rewarded their family with two bags of wheat, and they don't have to pay taxes this year......"

"Don't even think about it!" Sam heard the voice coming from behind him, and immediately glared back, "It's a real war now, and being a soldier is to fight hard with the people of the East, and one of them will die outside by accident - and just your two brothers who are not angry, you look at their thin arms and legs, the knight lord will look at them?" ”

The youngest daughter was taken aback, and quickly shrunk her neck and didn't dare to say anything again.

Cooking smoke rose from the front, and the wooden fence at the entrance of the village came into Sam's sight.

A cavalryman riding a tall horse, wearing armor with strange shapes and runes, and carrying a black one-handed sword at his waist was stopping at the entrance of the village. ”

Sam's heart tightened.

And you want to harvest grain? This winter has just passed...... How can there be food at home?!

But he still did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly led his children to the front of the cavalry, and stopped at a distance where he would not be kicked by horses and beaten by whips, and bowed deeply: "Master Knight." ”

This is just a soldier on a horse, looking at the fully armed appearance, at most he is a squad leader among soldiers, and he is definitely different from the "knight lord" who really has a noble status, but Sam even if he knows this, he has to call the other party "knight lord" - this is very flattering to the soldier on horseback, and even if someone is held accountable, he can cover up the past with his stupidity and ignorance of the rules.

The cavalry was really useful, the corners of the heavily armed man's mouth curled, he nodded in satisfaction, and then pointed at Sam's two sons behind him with his whip: "You have two sons?" ”

"Yes...... Yes......" Sam nodded repeatedly, "they are all honest young men......"

"It's good to be honest, what you want is to be honest," the cavalryman raised his chin, "pick one, your son has been drafted." ”

"Ah...... Yes? Sam looked up in astonishment, and after a brief moment of astonishment, he finally panicked, "Sir, they ...... They can't fight! Look at their arms and legs, and the way they can't stand up straight, if they go to the battlefield and die, it's still a trivial matter, I'm afraid they won't even be able to pick up their weapons, and they will be embarrassed by the lord! ”

"To the battlefield? Do they deserve it too? The cavalryman waved the whip in his hand and said impatiently, "They are going to work!" ”

Sam was startled by the sound of the whip, but still dared to ask, "Work...... What do you do? ”

"Build the road," the cavalry said in a loud voice, "according to the regent Grand Duke Victoria?" Wilder, Bodwen? An order signed by Franklin and the Prince of Wales to repair the Kingdom Road - the loyal Viscount Hancall has put your family on the list and must not be disobeyed! ”

The cavalry marched away.

This is the 15th day of the month of recovery, the traditional festival of Ansu, on this day, the Kingdom Road, which has been abandoned for a century, finally begins to be renovated.

On the same day, after some intensive preparations, the "White Sands Mining Company", led by the Minister of Commerce Padraik, finally selected the first mining site in the eastern White Sands Hills.

Young knight Belk? Loren stood on a high lookout and watched the Cecil people busy among the mountains and rocks in the distance: as a messenger between the east and the south, as a "representative" appointed by Prince Edmund, this young man meticulously carried out his duties, closely following the activities of the Cecil people in this land, and watching the excavation site of the first mining site of the Cecilians was naturally his job.

For the Cecil people who came from the southwest, Belk? Loren always maintained three points of trust and seven points of vigilance, he knew what the founding duke had done in the south: a person who violently destroyed the entire southern aristocracy by force in one year, and stormed and occupied the rock fortress in three days, could never be a good person, he sent a "White Sand Mining Company" over, although it was only mining in name, but who knows if these Cecilians would infiltrate everywhere, and whether they would gradually devour and encroach on the land near the White Sand Hills into Cecil's own?

After all, there is only a river and a small wooded area of Glenland on the border with the Duchy of Cecil.

Beneath the lookout was a makeshift mine camp, where the Cecil had transported a large amount of strange equipment through the Glenn region, and they had laid magic nets, built board houses, and cleared out an improvised road in the mines—although the tools they used and the planning of their buildings were strange, at least until now, all these Southerners had done was necessary for "mining".

"Marquis Belk, I hope this mine will satisfy your curiosity," a voice came from the side, "after all, there is really no scenery to see in such a barren mountain and wild place. ”

It was a thin, dark man named Home, Belk? Luo Lun knew that this young man who didn't even have a surname was the head of the "White Sands Mining Company", a "mining expert" sent by Cecil, and he didn't know why it was a civilian who managed such a huge industry and commanded hundreds of workers, but he still nodded to Holm very politely: "I didn't come to see the scenery myself, I just came to see your mines - please don't care if I speak directly, but I must emphasize: although the right to mine is given to you, this is still the land of the east after all, I'm responsible for every inch of land outside of the mine. ”

Holm nodded: "Of course, Mr. Marquis, we only mine, and we have no interest in any land outside of the mines and roads. ”

In the distance, the Cecil men, who had been busy between the rocks, had finally made some kind of preparation, and with a loud whistle and a few loud whistles, the miners in coarse cloth overalls ran quickly to a distance from the rocks, hiding behind a boulder.

Belk watched in amazement, as he didn't see anything like it in any mining process he knew: "What are they doing?" ”

Holm laughed, a man from slave labor who had never had such a bright smile in his life: "Mining. ”

In the distance, someone waved a few eye-catching flags from a high place, and then all the miners who were close to the mountain rock covered their ears.

Belk? Luo Lun looked curious: "Mining? ”

An earth-shattering bang could be heard from afar.

More loudly followed, one after the other, as if rolling thunder.

The entire lookout shook slightly in the midst of the continuous loud noise, and under the impact of this shock, which was more terrible than the fire explosion technique and the earthquake technique, the mountain rock in the distance, which required hundreds of people to dig for a whole month, collapsed with a bang.

Belk had almost drawn his sword in his hand, and in his ears ringing, he heard the voice of the head of the Baisha Mining Company next to him:

"Yes, mining, we only mine, Mr. Marquis."