The total four-day horse journey from Sappburg to Longxia City included three days of climbing mountains. Even though Art was a man who was accustomed to endure hardships, he was exhausted, let alone the horse carrying people under him. If he had known that he would have to walk up and down so many large and small mountains, Art would not have come on a horse. Perhaps riding a mule would be more suitable, at least he would not feel bad.
He really couldn't bear to burden Jin Gui's horses during the last section of the journey, so he ordered all the guards to dismount and walk to save their horse power.
"Father-in-law, these roads are so rugged and difficult to travel. How did the heavy Longxia wines be transported out of the country on these middle mountain roads? Are the roads on the south slope smoother than on the north slopes? We only brought a carriage and it was very difficult." Art didn't understand how the people of Longxia turned wine into a maritime trade with such difficult transportation here.
Baron Galvin continued to stand on horseback and beat his waist, and replied: "The road conditions on the south slope are similar to those on the north slope, and the Longxia people do not transport their heavy goods by mountain roads at all. They rely on river transportation."
"Hmm? River transportation?" Art was full of doubts.
Seeing that Art was very confused, Galvin explained: "The road from Longxia to the southern continent is difficult and difficult for carriages carrying heavy loads. However, there is a river in Longxia that flows through Longxia. The river flows from the mountains to the western border of Provence at the foot of the mountain. The merchants of Longxia package the brewed wine in a special iron hoop. The barrels are then thrown into the river from the city of Longxia. It only takes half a day for the barrels filled with fine wine to float down the river to a cargo terminal called Redemption Beach on the border of Provence. There are people from Longxia who specialize in collecting these goods floating down from the mountains on the shore. Sometimes they also put some furs, dried fruits, bacon and other items into barrels and float them downstream. "
After hearing this, Art was puzzled and questioned: "Is this possible? There must be rapids and shoals on the way from the mountain river to the lowland. No matter how strong the barrel is, it can't withstand the impact? Besides, won't the barrel run aground or be intercepted by people along the way after it flows downstream?"
Galvin laughed after hearing this and replied : "So, the wine of Longxia has only begun to become famous in the Southern Continent in the past ten years, because the previous generations of Longxia rulers failed to solve this problem."
"Then how did they solve it?"
"How did they solve it? It starts with a little story."
“It is said that twelve years ago, when Flanders was thirteen years old, the naughty Flanders took a group of half-grown boys from Longxia City to swim in the river. A group of guys who were not afraid of death actually swam to the edge of the river down the mountain. As a result, the river suddenly became turbulent and the group of people had no time to get ashore, so they were swept by the river and drifted downstream. Finally, when the old count and his men found them, Flanders was already lying near Provence. In a river beach in the mountain, Flanders and two surviving wild guys survived holding a rotten tree, and the other poor children were drowned. The beach where Flanders landed is now the Redemption Beach. "Since then, Flanders has changed his gender, become calm and dignified, and his mind has become more and more intelligent. It was also that year that he came up with a genius idea that completely changed the dilemma of Longxia wine being difficult to export."
Galvin showed off for a long time but did not answer Art's question, "Father-in-law, you haven't said how to solve the problem yet."
"Oh, yes. In fact, the solution is not complicated. There are fifteen sharp bends and dangerous shoals from Longxia City to Drifting Beach. But wherever the barrels may hit the rocky banks, there are buffer walls surrounded by wooden fences. The barrels will hit them when they rush down the river. The curved wooden wall is then led downstream so that it will not be smashed; there are no high cliff waterfalls along the way, and there are deep pools below the low waterfalls, so the barrels cannot be broken. As for your concern about barrels being intercepted and stolen along the way, Flanders has set up outposts to patrol places along the way where the flow of water is slow and easy to be intercepted. Moreover, Flanders has formulated the most stringent laws on this river. Those who intercept stolen goods will have their hands chopped off. "
"After those wooden barrels reach the lower reaches, someone will pick up the wine, and the empty barrels will be transported back to Longxia City by horse-drawn carriage. It will be much more convenient to load the empty barrels and walk on the mountain road."
"Did Earl Flanders think of this? Or was it when he was thirteen years old?" Art found it unbelievable.
"Well, that's right, at least that's what I heard from the businessmen. I didn't ask Flanders for confirmation, but it's true that Flanders almost drowned when he was thirteen years old." Galvin shrugged.
After hearing this, Art stopped and lowered his head in thought for a long time.
"Master, what are you thinking about? We are almost at the gate of the city wall." Ron reminded Art.
Matt was pulled back from his thoughts, looked up at the towering stone wall, and said to Ron: "Ron, I give you a mission, you must remember it!"
Ron thought that Art was going to give him an urgent and dangerous special combat mission. You go and charge into battle. I ask you to select a few soldiers who are good at swimming from the legion when you return to the valley this time. Start from the river in the workshop area and explore downstream to see if the river can flow to the Principality of Lombardy. You must note down the rapids and terrain along the way. The terrain of the valley is much lower than that of the Earl of Longchard. Maybe we can also float the wine produced in the valley to Lombardy downstream through that river~"
"Huh? How long will it take to finish?" Ron didn't expect it to be such a special mission.
"Ah what? I'm not asking you to finish the whole day, so just treat it as a sightseeing tour!"
"Oh~" Ron reluctantly accepted the task.
「姐夫！你还等什么呢？马上就到了。」菲利克斯牵着战马经过了亚特，催促了一句就跟上了高尔文的背影......
............
「岳父大人，这～这是隆夏城？没有城墙！」亚特呆住了。
After passing the heavily patrolled canyon wall, the view suddenly broadened. There was a flat and vast mountaintop plateau (not a plain) slightly lower than the high canyon wall where Beat stood. Several streams flowed from the slightly higher mountainous area on the north side to Longxia City and converged into a river. The land on both sides of the stream was covered with green buds, and farmers were dotted in twos and threes.
This place is in sharp contrast with the narrow mountain valleys and the overlapping peaks and valleys along the mountain road. If you didn't see Yate with your own eyes, it would be hard to imagine that there would be such a place on the top of the mountain that was cut off by God.
What surprised Art even more was that the city of Longxia, which was located in the plains, was actually a city without walls. In this era of wallless cities, this was unimaginable.
Since Longxia City has no city walls, it is inconvenient to describe the size of its perimeter. Anyway, from this perspective, Longxia City looks like a cluster of scattered buildings of different heights. It is roughly estimated to be four or five times the size of Tyniec City, but it is certainly not as big as cities like Besancon and Lucese, and even Thorn City is far behind.
This is no wonder. Although there are vast plateaus around Longxia City, it can be seen that the land suitable for farming is only a few parts on both sides of the streams and rivers. Moreover, for the entire Longxia Territory, most of the people are scattered in scattered settlements in the three counties. Without a large piece of land as a link, it is difficult for people to gather in one place.
There is a large military camp in the southern part of the city. The military camp is composed of hundreds of tents of different sizes. There are low fences around the military camp. This is the only "walled" area in Longxia City.
Galvin looked unsurprised, "Longxia City is indeed one of the rare cities without walls, but it is not entirely correct to say there are no walls. There are only two passages in and out of Longxia City, namely the north and south mountain roads. You also saw the high canyon wall just now. As long as you close the gate and send a hundred crossbowmen to guard the wall, no matter how many enemies you come, they will never get close to Longxia City."
"As for the four I am afraid that only hunters and wild beasts dared to walk on those so-called mountain trails in Zhou Dynasty. Moreover, Longxia's army is not a grass-eater. The rulers of Longxia throughout the ages firmly believe that the army is the strongest city wall. You will soon feel the martial spirit of Longxia mountain people."
"Let's go."
Galvin walked towards Longxia City...
What Baron Galvin said about the martial arts of the people in the Longxia Mountains was not an exaggeration. What he saw and heard along the way since entering the mountains has made Art deeply aware of it.
Normally speaking, the lords as rulers would not allow ordinary citizens in the territory to have weapons. Even iron farm tools such as sickles and axes would be firmly in their hands.
This is understandable. If the subjects have weapons in their hands, then the lord who relies on exploiting the subjects will have trouble sleeping and eating.
However, this situation is quite different in the Longxia region. Most of the young and strong men seen along the way have a short knife or short sword stuck in their waist. Even the farmers who are digging soil and weeding in the mountainous land have many people with swords and axes at their side. Under the dark and rough appearance of the people, there is a fierceness everywhere.
Moreover, the Longxia Territory also has a special decree. Hunting rights in other places are exclusively reserved to the lord. Except for a few permitted hunters who can hunt a few types of wild animals, ordinary civilians do not dare to hunt in the lord's mountains and forests.
However, Longxia Territory is just the opposite. Since Flanders inherited the title, he has repeatedly encouraged his subjects to go hunting in the mountains on their own. The captured prey only needs to pay a small part of the symbolic tax as a symbolic tax. Moreover, he also strictly ordered the subjects to hold a "group hunt" during the annual hunting season, and the lords at all levels must personally lead the subjects of the territories to go into the mountains to round up the hunt.
At this point, Art also thought of this. He also allowed the people of the Valley Barony to go into the mountains to hunt. However, the land in the valley was sufficient, and the people could survive on the land, so most people were not very interested in dangerous hunting activities. Therefore, the peasant soldiers of the garrison often went into the mountains to hunt under the leadership of Bass to provide meat for the army.
“Master, why are these people staring at us?” Ron muttered softly.
After entering Longxia City from the scattered houses on the outskirts of the city, the city residents they met along the way gathered on both sides of the road and watched the strangers on horseback and carrying swords with vigilance. There was no fear on their faces. Art could imagine that if someone suddenly ordered an attack on his group, those guys with short swords on their waists would definitely dare to pounce.
Matt did not answer Ron's doubts. He stared at a few middle-aged men with missing arms and legs and scars on the roadside and asked Galvin softly: "Father-in-law, what do those guys do?"
Galvin glanced at the group of people and replied in a low voice: "Those are all wounded and retired veterans of the Flanders Mercenary Corps. There are many such wounded soldiers in Longxia City. They are all veterans who have gone through battles with Flanders. These people were seriously injured and were placed in the city after withdrawing. Most of them have saved a lot of military pay, and there is a presbytery in Longxia City. The gate accommodates these veterans with military exploits, and they enjoy high courtesy. The elders of the Presbytery can participate in territorial governance and military battles." Art was shocked after hearing this. It seemed that Longxia was indeed a place that was proud of the military. He even doubted whether the Earl of Flanders had the same special status as himself.
In this way, under the gaze of the residents of Longxia City, the group awkwardly walked through the city and arrived at the Earl of Longxia's Mansion in the center of the city.
The Earl's Palace of Longxia made Art change his understanding of the word Earl's Palace. In his memory, the Earl's mansion was a symbol of luxury, sophistication and power. Not to mention the luxurious palaces of the Lombard Earls who occupied the wealthy areas, even the Earls' mansions in the County of Burgundy all occupied a wide area and had towering walls, with well-proportioned gardens and rows of courtyards. The inner residences for the Earls and their families were even more extravagant.
However, the above-mentioned things are nothing like the Earl of Longxia's mansion. There are no walls, no gardens, no courtyards, and no exquisite sculptures or fountains. The so-called Earl's Palace is just a three-story stone house that occupies a slightly larger area in the city of Longxia. The building is large enough, and I believe that the Earl's family and a group of servants will not feel crowded living there.
There is a flat open space in front of the mansion. On both sides of the open space are low stables and military arsenals. Several tall and tall earl guards stand guard and patrol on both sides of the open space.
Flender, Count of Longxia, had already been waiting at the edge of the open space in front of the mansion with his wife, two sons and a group of subordinates and servants. Seeing Galvin dismounting and leading the team, Flanders took a few steps forward and opened his arms to hug Galvin. "Uncle, welcome to Longxia City as a guest!"
"Flender, thank you. Galvin replied to Count Flanders, then looked sideways at Felix, Art and others behind him, and introduced: "Flanders, this is Felix, you should know him." Felix took half a step forward and bowed to Flanders, "Dear Earl, dear cousin Flanders, I am Felix."
Flanders smiled and gave Felix a soft hand and patted his shoulder, "Felix, the last time I saw you, you were only twelve years old. I heard from my uncle that you are now a frontier knight and army commander."
Felix smiled shyly.
After introducing Felix, Galvin walked to Art's side, held Art's back and introduced Flanders solemnly, "Flanders, this is Lottie's husband, the knight of the palace guard of the County of Burgundy, the frontier baron Art Wood Wells. He is the commander of the Welsh Army in the south of the palace. "
"Art, this is Flanders Huguet, the Earl of the Principality of Burgundy."
"I have met the Earl!" After hearing this, Art took a step forward and bowed respectfully to Flanders.
Flanders stepped forward quickly and held Art tightly, saying: "I have also heard of the reputation of Baron Art. You are the husband of cousin Lottie. Just call me cousin Flanders. There is no need to be more formal than earl."
The moment Art straightened up, he glanced at Flanders. The twenty-five-year-old Earl had a deep scar on his face, and there were obvious white stubbles in his short black hair. His smiling face showed a composure and solemnity that could not be hidden.
Weathered! This was Art's first impression of Flanders.
The moment Flanders helped Art up, he quickly glanced at the young man in front of him with legendary experience, and their eyes met for a moment.
Flender moved his eyes to Ron and Robert behind Art, and asked: "Are these your entourages?"
At quickly turned around and introduced: "These two are my captain of the guard, Sir Ron, and the chaplain of the legion, Robert."
Flender nodded to Ron and Robert one by one.
"Uncle, two brothers, come with me in. Today I have prepared a rare family banquet to celebrate the reunion of the old and new generations of our Yuge family..."