Although it was only half an hour, the chat with the Cheka brother allowed Gastens to learn more about the situation in the rear. At the beginning of the war, the people at the bottom were not greatly affected, but things changed after they captured the fragrant city of Stralongwood, the slave soldiers died in large numbers, and the emperor began to prepare for the march into the Negro Republic. The provincial administrations and the management aristocracy began to forcibly expropriate serfs in large quantities, and the conditions were acceptable, with a lease fee of 10 kroner for a serf, and 10 kroner for the landlord who provided the serf if he survived three charges and obtained the status of a freeman. The price of 20 kroner was almost the average level of serfs in the pre-war market. Therefore, at first, the landlords were not disgusted with this policy, and Lord Bass also sent a few thorns that were usually disobedient, which was considered to clean up his team in disguise.

After that, the front-line army marched all the way, and the rear was naturally safe, and some landlords received compensation for the conversion of serfs into freemen. But with the defeat at the Battle of Green Pine Mountain, after a large number of serf soldiers fled or died, things became a little awkward. After the last round of expropriation of serfs, the number of serfs left in the hands of the landlords was not sufficient, and many small landlords even kept only two or three serfs for themselves, barely able to meet the needs of farming. Therefore, in the face of the second round of compulsory expropriation, many landlords began to delay and did not want to cooperate. However, the orders from above were cruel and ruthless, and after verbal communication was ineffective, the local administrations and families mobilized conscription units of the police and the army to begin the compulsory expropriation of serfs from the small landowners. Moreover, because the original expropriation plan took into account the share of all the landlords' serfs, and the large landlords, through connections and bribes, exempted their own serfs from the quota of expropriation, and distributed these quotas among the small landlords. The sudden increase in the number of serf levies broke the production cycle of many small landlords, and after the conscription teams of the army and the local police forcibly took away the few serfs under their command, many small landlords had to go into battle and cultivate their fields. More small landowners turned to the serf market, hoping to buy new serfs. But at that time, there was not much trade in the market for free serfs, and the price of an average serf rose from 20 crowns to 150 crowns, far beyond the capacity of many small landowners. Some small landlords have had to sell their land in order to maintain the basic production of the remaining land, and even worse small landlords have become no different from yeoman farmers.

“…… This may not be just a simple conscription, the accelerated concentration of land and the bankruptcy of small landlords, will exacerbate social contradictions......"

Gastens muttered to himself, not realizing that he had interrupted the Cheka's story. Cheka Warren quieted down and looked at Gastens, waiting for him to finish his thoughts.

"Oh, Brother Cheka, I'm fine, you go on, how is Lord Bass? He's a big landowner in Liuyin Town, right? Has it been affected in the future? ”

Even the old man of Bass can only be regarded as the better batch of small landlords, and the Cheka is his favorite serf, so naturally he did not hand it over. However, Gastens' two brothers and his father were sold by the Cheka during the second conscription, and received an income of 45 crowns. The price of the second conscription was 5 crowns more expensive than the first conscription, so Mr. Bass felt that he had made a good deal at that time.

"My dad is here too? Do you know where he is? Are you still alive? ”

Hearing that his father was also on the battlefield, Gastens was a little excited and nervous. Because he has always stayed with Prince Eliot, he is still relatively clear about the current battle situation. The defeat of the Second Battle of Green Pine Hill and the collapse of the Sixth Army basically meant the complete failure of this winter offensive, and the rest was to see if the Tulucas defense line could be held and whether the small principality taken by Ankenrein could be safe.

"I don't know, when your father joined the army, I was still farming for Lord Bass. By the time I arrived, your father would have been on the front, and I only knew that he might have gone to the Fourth Army, and nothing else. ”

The information the Cheka could provide was limited, and Gastens knew that there was no point in worrying about his father, who was also uncertain, when his life and death were uncertain. He was shocked for a moment and asked why the Cheka had come. Since the Cheka, Lord Bass's favorite serf, has gone to the battlefield, then Lord Bass's life is probably not easy.

After the second round of conscription, there were already some bad rumors circulating in the countryside. Rumor has it that the country's army suffered defeat in the west, and that the slave soldiers sent to the front did not return alive. Many small landlords, unable to continue farming because they had lost too many serfs, sold their land and fled with their families to the interior. The province of Enspan, where the town of Liuyin is located, is close to the border, and if the front line is lost, Tulucas is lost, and the Duchy of Rylin is lost, the first wave will be affected by the province of Enspan and several nearby provinces. As a result, the fugitive landlords had to sell their land and go to their relatives and friends. And more landlords who have no relatives or friends to go to, or who are reluctant to leave their own property, are still struggling.

If the conscription only ends in the second round, then the life of Lord Bass can be made up. But bad things never happen alone in this world. As Ankenrein advanced into the territory of Negro and several legion-level wars broke out, the slave soldiers that had just been replenished were insufficient. As a last resort, the third compulsory conscription began in the rear. This time, the local bodies and the management families in charge of conscription were no longer polite as before, and they broke directly into the homes of small landlords who still had serfs in their hands, and kidnapped most of their serfs, and even all of them, leaving behind only 20 crowns of compensation per person. But at that time, the prices of major commodities such as grain and cloth began to rise, and the purchasing power of 20 crowns was about the same as the previous 15 crowns. And Lord Bass was not spared from this conscription, and all the male serfs, including the Cheka brother and the last brother of Gastens, were kidnapped by the soldiers under the command of Laogu Eridri in the province of Lobida, and there was no room for bargaining.

"My little brother Palo is here too? Where is he? Are you still alive? ”

"Brother Palo ran away in that fight a week ago, we got separated, and I don't know how he is now. But ......"

The Cheka stopped talking, and Gastens knew what he meant. He calmed down and asked Cheka to continue the rest of the story.

The rest of the story is much simpler, after the Cheka was taken away, he was sent directly to the front without even going to the new barracks. He did not know how to shoot, nor how to walk in formation and execute tactics. He stayed at Stranwood for two days, received simple training, and was thrown into the Sixth Legion. The Sixth Army took him in several battles in the second half of the Second Battle of the Green Pines, and when the ranks were broken up, the Cheka fled with some of his brothers, and then met the guards of the 3rd Guards Division in the woods, and then the Gastens.

"Okay, I got ......", Gastens took in too much information and was a little blind at once. The situation in the rear was even worse than he had imagined, and if the small landowners and yeoman farmers at the bottom of the country were to be destroyed and destroyed on a large scale as a result of the war, Ankenrein's agricultural self-sustaining power would plummet. By the time the seeds are planted in the spring of the following year, the consequences of the shortage of manpower will be felt, and the technological level of this world is far from the point of mechanized farming. At this rate, by the time of next autumn's harvest, Anken Rein will definitely have a food crisis.

Aside from the fate of the country, Gastens faces even more difficult things. His father and three brothers were on the battlefield, but there was no way he could find them. He calmed down for a moment, knowing that it was useless for him to be anxious, so he took out a stack of Tru from the Neglo Republic from his backpack, about 2,000 or so, and gave it all to the Cheka.

"Brother Cheka, I'm a soft-spoken person now, and I can't help you. Tulucas is dangerous now, and if you go back, it's your life to fight, so you might as well find a way to survive in Negru. This is about 2000 Tru, you take it, take your brother, find a place in the border area, and find a way to live. ”

"Little Gas, how embarrassing is this, you saved my life, how embarrassed am I to ask for your money!"

"What's so embarrassing, the money is not mine, you just pick it up from the ground. Live well, and if I have the chance, I'll come back to you. Now, in order to avoid complications, let's hurry up. ”

Behind Gastens, the horn symbolizing the assembly has sounded. Cheka knew that time was running out, he took the money and was about to leave, but was hugged by Gastens reaching out and hugging him. The 17-year-old hugged his big Cheka brother tightly and whispered in his ear.

"You must live! Big Brother Cheka! ”

After that, he let go of his arm and turned resolutely, never looking at the Cheka and his fellow deserters again.

————————————

Leaving the forest, Gastens had a lot of worries in his heart. Whether his father, his three brothers, is alive or not, and where they live, how can he not worry. He glanced at the time during the escape, and directly found Prince Eliot and told him about the situation.

"This one...... Little Gas, you also know that we are still running for our lives, and I will certainly not stop to help you find your father and brother. However, I also have a father and a brother, I understand your feelings, I will let my soldiers pay attention, if they meet your relatives, I will let them save them, rest assured. ”

"Thank you, Your Royal Highness!"

Gastens knew that this was already a rare kindness that Prince Eliot could give, and he was not critical and sincerely thanked him. He then discussed with Elliot the next direction of the march.

“…… We are now less than a hundred kilometers from the border, and so far we have not encountered a large force of the enemy, and the pursuers behind our butts are still half a day's way away. But they didn't seem to be in a hurry, as if they wanted to drive us into some kind of encirclement. These 4,000 men under my command are the last of the artillery cavalry, and I don't want them to have an accident. I'd like to cross south here, get out of the pursuers behind, and then enter Tulucas here, and trim near Longfordford, what do you think? ”

Longford is one of the five cities of the Principality of Tulucas, close to the south and adjacent to the Republic of Neglo. Further south of the city, at the end of the central mountain range, it is much more difficult to pass.

"I don't have an opinion, but Your Royal Highness, our current state is estimated to not be able to cross the Central Mountains, so it's better to walk north of Longfordford?"

"That's, I'm betting now, that the enemy doesn't have that many troops to put up such a long defensive line. Moreover, their Iron Shield defense line is also a new product, and it is estimated that it has not yet become popular. As long as there is no iron shield defense line, against an enemy of 10,000 or 20,000, we should be able to break through by relying on the range of the steam hand cannon. ”

"We don't have enough ammunition, and we don't have more than 3,000 hand cannons that can be used. And if the enemy is defending in formation, using traps and horse rejections, it will be difficult for us to charge into battle. ”

Although he didn't want to go against the Prince, Gastens had to warn him of the possible risks. After all, this decision is still at stake for his own life.

"How do you talk like that old Vincent fellow?" Gastens's answer was apparently not satisfactory to Elliot, and he muttered a few words and kicked Gastens out of the tent, saying that he would have to think again.

Leaving the tent, Gastens returned to the camp where the staff was located. After a short period of repair, the order was given, and the whole unit turned around again and headed south, bypassing the line of defense that the enemy might have laid out in front, making a starry journey, dropping everything it could, and crossing the border as quickly as possible into Longfordford.

Although quite a few things had already been thrown on the run, this time the soldiers had to throw even more. The steam hand cannon, which had some minor problems, was also destroyed by many soldiers and thrown away. Gastens also repaired some steam hand cannons during this time, but because he didn't have the right tools and large equipment, he could only stay at the level of tearing down the east wall to make up the west wall, and using broken steam hand cannon parts to repair the good steam hand cannons, but he couldn't go further. And so many steam hand cannons in the entire Third Guards Division were not repaired by Gastens alone. In the end, when the last count was made before departure, Gastens found that the 3rd Guards Division could fight, and there were only about 2,600 hand cannons with ammunition.

The light car is simple, the starry night is combined, and the fleeing troops are desperate. No one knew if they had stopped in their original direction, but when they finally reached the border after a day and a night of rapid marching, and looked at the Duchy of Tulucas in front of them, they finally felt a sense of hope and happiness.

Sure enough, the enemy's line of defense has not yet been laid out here.

"Let's go, let's go," Eliot said, standing on the borderline, waving his command knife high, the weary army passing by him, and the morning glow on the inky blue horizon turned the picture into a poignant picture of defeat and flight.

"But we're going to come back!"

As the troops passed by, Eliot shouted loudly, his voice far away in the silence of the early morning. His silhouette looks like a colorful figure in the backlight, leaping onto the page, lonely and sad.