By this time the river had frozen over and we could not pass through the lake, so we had to walk along the riverbank

The post road built by the soldiers here a long time ago is now deserted and unattended, and although it is no longer possible to pass through the army, it is not very difficult for our team to pass through

On the south shore of the East Lake, we rested every day in the broken stone towers or woods on the road, and from noon we traveled until the moon rose to the highest point in the sky, and after leaving the south bank, we began to march in normal time, and it took us more than a week to reach the town where there were horses, where we handed over the tired horses to the familiar merchants, and after changing horses we continued on the road, and after another four days we returned to the familiar Varykov

Joey and a few men left us before they got to Varykov, they had other things to do

The whole barracks seemed to have changed little, and when we came back from the dawn and snow with the sound of our horses' hooves, it was the same as before: the morning soldiers got up at the sound of the trumpet, got up from their beds with a yawn, and walked to the outskirts of the barracks. The carpenters, after consulting with each other, continued their work yesterday; Some of the farmers who delivered grain and cloth had arrived early, either to sell their goods or to help repair the barracks

A soldier without armor was the first to appear to us, and he blew the horn on his waist, and after a while, the whole barracks began to whine, and I knew that this was the welcome ceremony of the soldiers when the general returned

The soldiers showed great enthusiasm for Giovanni's return, and they all ran into the open space to greet us, and a few people grabbed our gasping mounts, and soldiers kept coming out to salute Giovanni

In the clearing, the soldiers made a fuss, and we went back to the house

The old man who helped the cook didn't know that we were coming, so he hurriedly doubled the firewood, boiled the soup, and then made us a thick soup, and after so long in the cold field, it was a really good feeling to finally return to the warm room

When I picked up a bowl of soup, a non-commissioned officer was reporting to Giovanni about what had happened during his absence, and the person who had come back with him began to stand up and walk outside, and I stood up, but Giovanni told me to stay, "Victor, you can listen to it"

The non-commissioned officer looked at me with a frown, "Okay, I hope this kid's mouth can be tighter"

During this time, the whole of Valankov was in a hurry, and the town even began to impose martial law, that is, from a few days ago, everyone could only enter Valankov, but could not leave, and the news came back from a spy who hid in a wine barrel and mixed out of the city

It was only then that I learned that Giovanni had actually stationed a spy in Valankov

In the town, the situation of the three families is now similar to that of the past, these families cooperate with each other, and the Earl cooperates with each other on occasions large and small, but now, the two groups seem to be more and more united, and their goals are now the same

The Corvin family had stopped selling their wheat reserves, which made the price of food rise for Valankov, and the war-accustomed residents did not appear to be panicked, in the past, Valankov was often besieged, and the inhabitants had learned to dig cellars and store food in them for at least three months, and once the war began, the Valans could flee into the forest

It took thousands of years for the Valans to come out of the forest and settle down, but it only took a little time to relearn the art of the forest, and people say that civilization is always fragile, and perhaps this is the reason

On the other hand, the Mel family has stopped supplying soldiers to several mercenary patrons in the past, including armor and weapons, and has imposed an embargo of varying scales, and at the same time, various rumors have begun to spread in the town, saying that the Pilsudski family's army is going to cross the East Lake in the spring and attack the town on the west bank of the lake

Regarding the part of Little East Lake City, some people are starting to publicize, saying that Little East Lake City is now seeking to cooperate with the Pilsudski family, and as soon as the Burks come, Little East Lake City will join the army of the Burks to deal with the Valans This statement is very inflammatory, and the Valans have always despised the people of Little East Lake City, and now, the Valans have almost begun to hate the people of Little East Lake City

Every bakery was working hard to make bread and wheat cakes that could be stored for a long time, the soldiers filled the vats, and the buyers brought back large quantities of cured pork, ham, and all kinds of poultry food processed with salt from Ivangelrod and other areas, enough to support it until the summer, and some citizens who had fields outside the city could not help but worry about their estates, but the Lucasinos hinted that these people could get compensation for their losses from the small East Lake City

Lucasino's temptation caused a commotion among the inhabitants, which was an obvious hint that the spring might be about to take force against Little East Lake City, and the lords and city officials showed great interest in the proposal, in fact, quite a few people in it had already known about the plan, especially those from the three major families

Previously, the Earl had been behind the scenes in this series of actions, which made many people in a wait-and-see state, they seemed to be waiting for the Earl's reaction, and just a few days ago, the Count declared martial law in the town, which made everything fall into place, and now, even the most dull inhabitants know that when spring comes, the war will begin, and the opponents are the Burkes, and the people of Little East Lake City may betray themselves

That's what people know in their hearts right now

The first hundred and ninety soldiers, who had left the town and were stationed in an air barracks on the outskirts of the town, had been put into combat readiness, and thirty days earlier had received their equipment: a tweed coat worn by a farmer, two pairs of leather boots, a belt to tie his clothes tightly, an oak shield, and an axe, and then, after being sifted through physical strength and fighting skills, sixty of them were given chain mail and helmets, while the most elite soldiers were given swords and whetstones

After the initial armament was completed, the subsequent equipment was successively transported from the warehouses and blacksmiths, and transported to the barracks in wagons or ox carts, and each soldier was finally given at least a leather hat, which was lined with plush, and the protective sword may not have been useful, but it was quite suitable for protection from the cold, and then the men were also given javelins: short poles several feet long made of ash or mace, or even willow, with the front end sharpened, and the ordinary soldiers only had to dry and harden the tip of the javelin with fire. Some soldiers put a hard iron sheet on the front, and some even had a heavy, sharp spear head in the front

A number of petty traders who had bribed the Lucasino family were also allowed to enter the barracks, selling their goods to the soldiers: cheap cuirasses of the Salanders; Rhodok's folding pot holders; Herbal ointments of the Kujits; The sharp axes of the Nords, and the shields blessed by Valkyrie, whose authenticity is rather dubious

Of course, if you have the money, you can also get a set of Swadia auxiliary equipment to attach iron nails to your breastplate to make it strong; Change pins for your cloak and make it decent; Tie a belt around your shoulder armor and make it heavy; Put a jewel on your helmet, just to look good

The least valuable are the indulgences and good luck charms of the Pope

It is said that these things were written by the Pope himself and used to protect God's soldiers from harm, but the Pope is a guy from the Western Church after all, and whether his things can adapt to the situation in the East and protect the soldiers in the East is very suspicious The Waran soldiers are willing to kneel on the ground and pray for the protection of the gods, and some of them have accepted God, believing in the indulgences and good luck charms of the Eastern Pastor, but unfortunately the last time the Great Pastor made indulgences was ten years ago, after that, Omaki has never launched another product, which makes a genuine good luck coupon signed by Omaki worth a fortune, and it is said that Constantine has a single one on the sole of his left shoe, which was bought for him by Peter's father when he was a child

The soldiers said with envy that Konstantin's good luck ticket had saved his life on the battlefield many times When Konstantin was young, there was once an arrow pierced the root of Konstantin's thigh, everyone looked at the position of the arrow, and felt that it was going to be a bad thing, but when Konstantin was saved, people pulled down Konstantin's pants in fear, only to see that the arrow deviated by two inches, and did not hit the vital point, everyone was relieved, and the good luck charm of the great herd not only protected Konstantin's life, It also continues the bloodline of the Lucasino family, if you don't consider Giovanni

The first soldiers were ready in the midst of a hurry

Then the second group of more than 140 civilian archers, then the third and fourth groups of infantry, hussars, and crossbowmen, and finally, the number of soldiers assembled in the barracks was more than four hundred and fifty, and almost all of Valankov was mobilized, and more than a thousand farmers and craftsmen were unconditionally requisitioned, and everyone had to serve for a month to three months, and never before had so many men been put into preparation for war, So many men left the town suddenly, and the whole city quickly fell into a depression

The streets were empty, and women, the elderly, and children were the main groups in the city

It only takes one to stand in the count's mansion and look at Vrankov from the watchtower, at the empty streets, at the frozen canals, at the chimneys that are not smoking, and that this is a big gamble, a gamble with hundreds of soldiers and thousands of servants, the outcome of which will determine the fate of Valankov for decades to come

Kalinin didn't know what method to use, so that the three families were willing to take the risk, knowing that if Kalinin lost, it would be a big deal to leave here and continue the path of exile; And if the three major families lose, they will be reduced to third-rate small nobles or even commoners

The non-commissioned officer told Giovanni everything in detail

Giovanni pinched the bridge of his nose with his eyes closed, "What about our people?" How many of our soldiers are there? ”

The non-commissioned officer shrugged his shoulders, "There are ninety-seven people in the barracks, all of them are equipped with leather armor, a few have chain mail, and the soldiers equipped with plate armor are seven adults, and you still have some soldiers on the way"

In terms of armor, Giovanni's soldiers were vastly superior to those of Valan

"All the soldiers are equipped with spears and short swords and axes, but the proficiency is different, each soldier can skillfully use the weapon only one shield, according to your requirements, has been changed from a pine shield to an oak shield, I think the soldiers who are used to wild fighting will not like it, we have prepared more than nine hundred javelins, and according to your orders, we have prepared more than three hundred spears, Lord Giovanni, this is the point I don't understand the most, we spent so much money and energy, and got a bunch of things that we don't need, does it make sense?"

Giovanni smiled, "Oh, is there anything else going on with this later?" ”

"Yes, yes," the man nodded, "Master Peter wrote you a letter".