In the sixth year of my father's illness, I was ten years old.

I was deeply impressed by those years——— my family was decaying at a breakneck rate.

My father's father, my grandfather was a small lord. As a young man, he fought with his former kings in the swamps of the south, when the empire was in disarray, and the southern provinces declared independence one after another, forming alliances with each other. In fact, this cannot be blamed on others, the tax revenue of the empire was excessive to an extent that there is no additional at that time. For the kings believed in the doctrine that it would be difficult for the weary people to shake the king's rule, and to make them tired, they were to be taxed heavily.

My grandfather, a nobleman, deeply regretted this rule. He came from the mountainous region of the south, where most of the people were immigrants, and where the influence of the empire was at its end, it was only a cover for a few nobles to maintain their rule. In fact, the Empire only regarded the South as a tax-collecting area of the Empire----- which was enough to bring in taxes for the Empire.

A century ago, the southern provinces contributed more tax revenue to the empire than the north, and the population of the north was three times that of the south. Eventually, a Southern civilian leader persuaded a local militia to drive away a group of tax collectors from the North, followed by the second and third groups. The empire was furious and gave orders to the nobles of the south to assist with tax collection. The southern aristocracy, in fact, was just a few of the larger manor owners, who had long been dissatisfied with the heavy taxation policy, and they perfunctory imperial envoys, but secretly supported the expulsion of the northern Yankees at the local level, and even made agreements with the rebels and the tax-resistant peasants.

In the past, a peasant had to hand over 22 dinars a year for the empire or anything worth that much, but now he only had to pay 10 dinars to the local nobles, and he could do whatever you wanted on your land, as the law had in the past. In this way, a farmer can save 12 dinars a year by working as usual, which can add him 3 sheep, 2 ewes, a ram and, of course, lambs.

On the other hand, the southern nobles were originally only responsible for "guarding the southern frontier for our king", and they only had to do their duty to send them to the north for every 22 dinars handed over by a farmer, and then wait for the generous gifts of the northern monarchs---- 50 for every 1,000 dinars. This is the equivalent of a farmer who gets almost one dinar a year. Now they can get 10, and all they have to do is to acquiesce to the farmers to continue to drive out the Northerners and give the money to themselves; On the other hand, they have to constantly explain to the big officials of the North that the people's grievances are boiling now, and they really can't collect a single dinar.

This continued for three years, during which time the extravagant spending of the empire remained unabated, and the taxes of the South shrank to almost one-seventh of what they had been before, and the burden of the South was undoubtedly borne by the inhabitants of the North. The inhabitants of the heart of the empire, who had enjoyed low taxes for hundreds of years, were outraged, and the explanation given by the authorities was simple: "The rebellion of the southerners has increased your taxes. ”

For hundreds of years, the love of compatriots has long since disappeared. The northerners, in their increasingly impoverished lives, and under the deliberate guidance of the Empire, hated the South to an unattainable degree.

The nobility of the South soon received an entangular one, or rather a warning, than the previous one. "If you can't restore the old order, then we can bring 10,000 soldiers to help you restore it." After the nobles of the south discussed collectively, they warmly received the minister, and then gave him a large bribe------ which had been very effective in the past. This time, Qin Cha silently returned to the north and threw the heavy money bag in front of the king, "Your Majesty, use this money to buy weapons." He then explained in detail to the king the "deals" between the Chin Cha and the local nobles. Enraged, the king arrested five high-ranking officials overnight, two of whom were executed the same night. The next day, the Imperial Minister of Ordnance received an order: "Iron swords, 1,200; shields, 3,000 sides; 300 pieces of armor; javelins, 9,000 pieces; leather, 4000 bags; Spears, 2000 sticks. The rest of the items, pending notification. ”

When the wheat was ripe in autumn, the first king gathered an army of 4,000 civilians, hastily armed, and began to march south, meeting the 1,200 archers who had been waiting for them for a long time by the banks of the Blue Water, and merging more than 300 knights and their 400 or so attendants in the next town, which were sent directly by the lords of various places, some of whom were the lords themselves. It wasn't until many years later that the people between the Bluewater River and Uxhall remembered the appearance of the army, with bright armor, bright tassels, clumps of spears, and scorching horses.

Along the way, all kinds of civilians, opportunistic mercenaries, and even bandits in disguise who were dissatisfied with the south saw the opportunity to start a war against the south and joined the team of the former king, and when they arrived at the mountain pass on the border between the north and the south, the army of the former king even exceeded 10,000 people, which corresponded to the previous ultimatum letter, "If you can't restore the previous order, then we can bring 10,000 soldiers to help you recover." ”

At that moment, the lords of the South were forced to make a choice, either to return to the arms of the empire or to fight to protect the more hopeful and dignified life they now have.

My grandfather was a boy who grew up in a school, a bachelor who had lived in awe of the old empire all his life, and who had been shut up since the "collapse of order" in the South three years earlier, as if the lights of life had gone out. During this period, his health deteriorated, and at the last moment of his life, the news of the conquest of the former prince gave him a shot in the arm, and he also wanted his old life: he put on cold armor on a cold morning and prepared to serve in front of the former king's army.

My grandfather coaxed him to take off his armor after he had stopped a little and told him to go back to his room to rest. From that day on, he began to have a fever, and by the sixth day the fever subsided, not because he had recovered, but because his life burned out.

After two more days, the Bachelor suddenly felt more comfortable than he had ever felt before, and he realized that this was a precursor to the loss of life. He called my grandfather and asked him to swear allegiance to the previous king, to the empire. The grandfather swore as he wished, and was appointed as the sole heir by the Bachelor. This made my grandfather a landlord with 12 acres of land and 20 farmers, and if he had a knighthood, he would be a lord at that time.

The bachelor asked his grandfather to burn down the land and take the farmer to join the army of the ancestors.

After the Bachelor's death, the grandfather sold all of the Bachelor's possessions, except for a few books and notes. Grandfather set out with 200 dinars. He went to the village where the bachelor lived, but it wasn't really a village, just a few shacks. He told the village chief that the bachelor was dead, that he was now the master, and that he would not live here in the future. The grandfather told them to burn the shack and go north.

The village chief said that his grandfather was crazy, and his grandfather always remembered the words of the village chief, and told us again and again: "Haven't you tasted how sweet the water here is?" Don't you see how strong the wheat here is? Don't you know that my lamb is about to give birth? The men of the village were silently holding torches and looking at their fathers, while the women and children were crying. The grandfather said, "This is my master's final decision, and I want you to respect him and honor me." I promise you'll be better off when you go north. ”

The village chief said, "Are you from the south?" Don't you know what the old men of the north have done over the years? We worked on our own land, watching the grain grow in the land, and we transported boxes of grain to the north as if that was the way it should be! I've heard that in the villages of the north, every farmer can keep more than half of his food for himself, but we are the opposite. We've already discussed it, and we're going to join the lord in the castle to get rid of those bad guys from the north. If you're willing to lead us to the castle in the south, we'll go with you, and everything here is yours. If you want to go to work for the lord of the north, you go, none of us go, we only follow the lord of the south, we only follow our own lord. ”

The grandfather said, "I understand you, but I am only fulfilling my master's last wish. The village chief gave my grandfather a deep look, and suddenly took two steps back, and before my grandfather could react, he was slapped by a farmer who was quietly approaching behind.

Grandfather woke up in a cell in a castle on the hill. He was thirsty and watched the guards walk around in a trance. Grandfather later learned that there was a mess outside. The southern lords never knew how to fight, and they gathered more than 4,000 peasants from the mountains to scatter and frantically attack the immobile northern army under the mountain, and the northern army stood there silently, motionless. The surviving farmers recalled, when they suddenly heard the sound of the wind, and then the locust-like trembling arrows flew aimlessly, and the farmers were stunned and fled in panic. Laughter erupted in the camp of the Northern Army, and the hastily armed citizens of the North scattered haughtily under the shouts of some knights, bypassing the main forces of the peasants from the left and right, and soon made contact with the peasants' line. Iron sword against nail rake: The iron sword is slashed on rags or leather, while the nail rake is scratched on a shield covered with cast iron sheets. This is not war, this is slaughter.

After an hour or so of slaughter, the remaining 2,800 or so farmers fell to their knees crying and begging for forgiveness.

In fact, the will of the South has been crushed. The lords who stood on the hill were dumbfounded; The farmers who fled were panicked; The peasants who had been preparing to attack begged the lords not to let them die, but the lords themselves were already half dead of fear. At this time, if the Northern Army, if the Empire shows a little mercy, tell them: "Lay down your arms and go back to your farm, the Empire will forgive you." "Then even if each farmer is asked to pay 30 or even 40 dinars a year to the empire in the future, they will be grateful.

The first king, the first king, gave an order: "All right, you can go back." ”

This order made all the farmers cheer, they did not know what awaited them.

The king divided them into 28 teams, each with about 100 people. Under the supervision of the soldiers, 99 of them had their eyes gouged out, while the remaining one had one eye gouged out.

Then he asked the soldiers to put their eyes in large bags, and let the one-eyed leaders carry them, and the people behind put their hands on the shoulders of those in front. The more than 2,800 people weeping blood and tears stunned the people of the mountain, and the king's cruelty made it impossible for even the most ferocious mercenaries to laugh out loud, and the whole valley was silent, except for 2,800 poor people crying. The Great Lord of the South, an old man from Aaron, was in tears, he began to drink heavily from that day, and after half a year he entered the monastery, and did not come out again until he died, and soon he went mad, and the terrible sight completely destroyed him. But before he died, he had one of the most beautiful dreams, in which he went back to his youth, walking with his lover on the lush fields and into the light. At that moment, he forgot the brutality of the northern kingdom; He forgot the desperate cries of the valley; He forgets about his lover and ends up being paid off by her father to a merchant from Sharitz. At that moment he wept and went into the light on the plain, and when the light disappeared he died in the monastery. His body was only found the next week, and the stench attracted bugs from all directions, causing people to be shocked, and only then did someone remember that the old madman in the tower had not come out to eat for a week. When they entered, the old madman was horribly rotten, but it was said that people felt him smiling, and that peace he hadn't had since he went mad. The death of the old madman brought a solemn end to an atrocity many years ago----- and he, like those men, was dug out of the light of the rest of his life by the former kings of the northern kingdom.

The lord who was about to negotiate peace was stunned, and then raged; The peasants took up arms again; In the rear, the citizens who complained about the situation donated all their property. They now have no doubt that if they don't drive out the northerners, the northerners will kill everyone. If they can't achieve absolute self-control, the northerners will give them absolute ****. From now on, the northerners lost almost all of their southern supporters.

The first king was full of ambition and waited for the surrender letter from the southern army on his horse, and the knights around him were silent, and the soldiers around him were silent. Finally, an old man came over on crutches and saluted the king, which was the etiquette of the ancient aristocratic family, and even in the most traditional areas of the north, this kind of formal etiquette was not easy to master. In this ritual, the first king saw a common ancestor hundreds of years ago. The old man stammered, stumbling in his speech, as if he had just been struck down in his hometown, weak and weak.

He was intermittent, weak as his heart of utter disappointment in the Empire after witnessing the atrocities: "Your Majesty, this is the last time I salute you. Your Majesty, there is not a day that I will speak without praying for the royal family. When there was a rebellion, I mean when the people here began to oppose your authority, I had just executed my radical son for imposing a new tax on you... I feel that empire is the embodiment of the divine in people's hearts, the most cherished emotional sustenance in our hearts... My Majesty, this is my homeland, and now I will call it the Motherland, a last salute to you. Your Majesty, on the day my ancestors opened the earth, there was not a day when they were not enshrined by the royal family. None of us thought to pick up a spear at the height of our taxes... Did you know that at least half of the people in the South see themselves as your people in their hearts, and they are doing nothing more than the resistance of overdisciplined children to their parents? But my majesty, you have betrayed the royal family, you have killed the last sustenance of the empire in our hearts. As of today, this umbilical cord does not exist. From now on, the borders of your empire end here, and for every one of our deaths, your empire expands. Want to restore the glory of your ancestors? Yes, kill all the mountain people. We are founded today, and our country is called Rhodok. From this day on, Rhodok is Swadia's sworn enemy. The war starts today, Rhodok declares an all-out war on Swadia, we don't think when the war will end, the chieftains of the northern kingdom listen, we will end the war when you are ready, you will fight until the end of the world, we will fight until then and then go to hell with you. ”

"Emperor of the North, we are ready to fight to the end, even if only the last bamboo spear remains. That's all I have to say. I am your former servant, I am the first envoy of Rhodok, and I send greetings from the Republic of Rhodoc. ”

After the old man finished speaking, he left, walking and stopping, weak like his motherland that had just been knocked down by a punch.

The king, pale, gave the order to shoot the old man, but the crossbowmen collectively refused. The king whipped his soldiers.

At that moment, everyone was disappointed in him, simply disappointed. It was only at night that the king reluctantly regained his authority and worked hard to convince people that what he was doing was contributing to the prosperity of the empire. The citizens of the North who had come to punish the Southerners for their taxes felt that the punishment was terrible anyway. Because in their hearts, those people are actually compatriots. But this shock soon became accustomed to both camps, because the premise of subconsciously seeing each other as compatriots was gone, and now it was the hatred of the enemy against the enemy, and the perception of brutality had changed. From now on, the official war began.

Now every Rhodok and Swadia will do everything in their power to kill each other.