A war that took place in the north of Burgundy did not seem to have much impact on the people far away in the valleys of southern Xinjiang, but the aftershocks of the war eventually spread to the valleys south of Tyniec.
While the owner of this valley was mediating and fighting in Swabia, the valley was also a busy scene.
The workshop area under the hills at the bend of the river in the southern part of the intervalley in the dense forest valley. Smoke from the fires filled the five or six wooden houses in the workshop area. The sound of tinkling iron, bang bang bang bang of chopping wood, and the rustling sound of sword sharpening have been heard in this busy workshop area for several days and nights.
The craftsmen and laborers in the textile and brewing workshops stopped their work and were all assigned to help in the weapons and carpentry workshops. The young and strong helped the blacksmiths carry iron materials and swing hammers to make embryos, and the weaker ones helped cut down the wood to make spear handles and shields. The female peasant workers were responsible for sharpening sword blades and assembling weapons. Even the old, weak and young family members in the workshop area mobilized and ran to the mountains. Collecting firewood in the forest, adding fire to the stove, making fire for cooking...
In just less than a week, the old carpenter Bader, the adjutant of the craftsman, led two Swabian craftsmen (and a fake craftsman who learned armor making in Lombardy) and twenty craftsmen and more than thirty craftsman apprentices. With the assistance of a large group of servants, they made enough weapons and armor to equip a hundred people.
“Old housekeeper, today we are making the last batch of weapons and armor. There are ten short swords, twenty-one winged iron spears, one set of half-plate armor, five sets of iron-studded cotton armor, fifteen disc helmets, eighteen shields, and thirteen pieces such as broadaxes, ball-peen hammers, and flails. These armaments are enough to assemble twenty peasant soldiers.”
"However, the materials for making the crossbow were used up yesterday, and the most important bones of the crossbow have been used up. We are unable to make the crossbow for the time being."
In the weapons workshop, the assistant craftsman is Guan Bud led the valley civil affairs officer Cooper to inspect the weapons production in the workshop. This was the third time in his busy schedule that Cooper came to the workshop area to speed up the production of weapons and armor, because there were still some troops rushing north to help, waiting to assemble weapons and armor before setting off.
Cooper was not familiar with military affairs, but he had been with Art for five or six years, and the army fought successive battles. Even this old man with a gray beard was forced to learn some military affairs.
Old Cooper casually pulled out a dagger from the wicker basket. Due to the tight time and heavy tasks, these daggers had no time to make fine and beautiful scabbards. Most of the daggers could only be roughly sewn into a leather scabbard, and some were even directly wrapped in coarse linen cloth. However, although the fancy scabbard is omitted, the quality of the dagger itself is still good. These are relied on to kill enemies and save lives on the battlefield. Cooper would rather save time on making the scabbard than on the craftsmanship of the sword body.
"The blades of these weapons are still very good. You have done an excellent job. After the last batch of weapons are produced today, the workshop has a day off. I will have a sheep slaughtered to celebrate your victory. In addition, you remember to prepare enough grindstones. At least three people must have one grindstone. The fighting on this battlefield is not as good as usual. , The weapon is very damaged in battle, and the blade will become jagged after a fierce battle. If there is not enough grinding stone, the soldiers cannot sharpen the sword with the palm of their hand." Cooper said and handed the dagger to the Swabian weapon craftsman and weapons workshop manager Diem who was accompanying Bard.
Diem stretched out his hands and took the dagger from Cooper's hand and put it back into the wicker basket. He said to Cooper in very blunt Burgundian: "We, remember~ what the civil administrator said, we must make the best weapons and armor!"
Cooper nodded approvingly towards the weapons craftsman Dim, "Dim, Bard often told me about your superb craftsmanship skills. The army also reported that the weapons and armor produced by the Valley Weapons Workshop are very sophisticated. Even the palace guards like our weapons and armor. This is a credit to you. I will definitely ask for credit for you when your lords and the others return from the northern expedition."
"By the way, according to the information I received, Our caravan will bring you and Luca (the carpenter)'s family back to the valley at the end of this month. The Civil Affairs Bureau has built two wooden houses for your family, and you can live with your family by then. "
When the Swabian weapon craftsman heard that his family members who had been away for two years were about to reunite in the valley, his heart was filled with joy. He kept crossing himself with his right hand and prayed in Swabian in a low voice.
“Thank God, thank you~ Sir Civil Affairs Officer, God bless Lord Art~” Dim kept expressing his thanks, then walked out of the weapons workshop and ran towards the woodworking workshop next to where spear shafts, arrows and shields were made. Obviously he wanted to share the joy with Luca...
< br/> Going northward from Gongfang District along the flat and wide carriage road along the river bank, four villages have appeared on both sides of the road. At this time, in several villages there are young men wrapped in winter clothes and carrying bags. Under the leadership of the village chief (who also serves as the captain of the peasant soldier team of each village), they gather towards the Beiguan Army Fort.
These people were not peasant soldiers who went north to fight in the province of Yona. In fact, after receiving the military order from Art more than ten days ago, in just three days, the Baron of the Valley had gathered more than seventy young and registered peasant soldiers and rushed to the Beiguan Army Fort to participate in emergency training. Two days ago, these people had gone to the garrison camp of Jushi Town to wait for the weapons and armor in the Valley. After that, they immediately took advantage of Andermatt Castle and headed north to Yona Province.
Earlier, Bass, commander of the Valley Guard Corps, had dispatched patrol captain Obote to lead forty patrol soldiers, including bandit suppressor Redoan, to the battlefield in advance to report back to Art.
Now walking on this road to the Beiguan Army Fort are the second batch of conscripted peasant soldiers from the Valley Barony. They total 80 people. After gathering and training at the Beiguan Army Fort, they will be arranged to Southwest Farm, Wincheston Manor, Lane Manor, Boulder Town garrison camp and Beiguan Army Fort to make up for the garrison vacancies left due to reinforcements from the north.
Most of these peasants and soldiers who are about to be recruited are strong and strong, and their expressions are vigorous. Although the winter clothes on their bodies are not flashy, they are thick enough.
In this valley barony, enlisting peasants and soldiers is definitely not a heavy service. On the contrary, it is a symbol of status and rights.
In short, not everyone here has the right to be drafted. First of all, only those young and strong citizens who have lived in the valley for more than one year and have no bad behavior will be registered as peasant soldiers by the garrison; secondly, registered peasant soldiers do not necessarily have the opportunity to become peasant soldiers, and the valley civil affairs and garrison must determine the recruitment quota and scope according to the military order; finally, The reason why it is a right is that the conscripted peasants and soldiers here are entitled to salary and food supply (the daily salary of the internal defense conscripted peasants is one pfenni, the foreign war salary is doubled, and the military reward is calculated separately), and the subjects who have been conscripted peasants and soldiers will have priority to enter the army and become combat soldiers...
So when the civil affairs officer Cooper and the garrison commander Bass jointly issued the recruitment order, the seven to eight hundred male residents in the valley were eagerly looking forward to it, hoping that they could become the second batch of peasant soldiers (the first batch needed to go north to fight, so most people were still a little afraid, but the second batch only needed to defend the soil, and the risks were not high and the benefits were not low).
Dozens of peasants and soldiers who came out of several villages while chatting, laughing and playing have arrived at the wooden castle in the valley. The Valley Wooden Castle has now become a market town castle in the true sense. The hunter's cabin six years ago has become the lord's mansion and lord's hall in the center of the wooden castle. The wooden castle has been clearly divided into five areas - the lord's mansion hall, the church and school area, the trading area, the wealthy officials' residence area, and the garrison barracks area.
The hall of the lord's mansion is still the same size as in the knight's period. However, for the safety and tranquility of the lord, some of the houses of the original people around the mansion were demolished and stone outer walls were built. Within the stone outer walls, Baroness Lottie opened a garden, and the courtyard was all re-paved with cobblestones. Pad, at the gate of the outer wall are two veterans who have retired from the army wearing armor and holding spears to guard; at the foot of the outer wall of the lord's hall is the Valley Civil Affairs Office, which is still the row of low wooden houses. The civil affairs ministries and the commanders of the Valley Guard Corps handle the general affairs of the valley here. This is the core of the entire valley barony.
The church school is across the street from the lord's mansion hall and the civil affairs office. The original wooden church was renovated and expanded into stone, the main hall was increased and expanded, and three additional rooms were added as a prayer room, clerical storeroom and clergy living room; the parish school next to the church was also turned into a spacious wooden room.
The commercial trading area is surrounded by the lord's mansion and the church and school. It was expanded from the wooden castle hotel and the original workshop area. Hotels and taverns, grain stores, cloth, iron farm tools, clothing tailors, and grocery stores have been set up one after another. These shops are all owned by the people. The shops are managed by the government, and the shops are managed by the family members and retired personnel of the military and civilian affairs. This can be regarded as a resettlement measure for the military and civilians. All profits earned, except for daily expenses, are returned to the civilian administration. With the increase in the number of residents and villages in the valley, the commercial trade area has become more and more prosperous.
Three areas were artificially designated outside the original wooden castle fence, and eight or nine mansions have been built on one of them. Most of the mansions are several single-story red-tiled wooden houses, and the middle one has two floors. It is the newly built mansion of the Scott family. After the low wooden house that was originally adjacent to the lord's mansion was demolished, Scott saved a huge amount of money and used part of the civil government subsidies to build this wooden mansion in the valley, which is the most "magnificent" besides the lord's mansion.
Scott’s family should be the absolute “powerful people” in the Barony of the Valley. Scott’s position as governor in civil affairs is second only to Old Cooper’s. Scott’s wife Emma has now been promoted from civil affairs officer to deputy civil affairs administrator, and receives a large salary every month. Scott’s His son Ron was promoted to a trainee knight and a deputy company-level bodyguard. Scott's youngest daughter is now the baroness's personal maid. All food and clothing are provided by the lord's mansion. The entire Scott family is supported by the valley, so they naturally have no shortage of money and status.
Several other large and small mansions were also built by high-ranking officers and officials from the military and civil affairs. Although the people who went in and out of them were not necessarily noble, they had no problem with having enough food and clothing.
There are no residences built on the other two vacant lots for the time being. They are residential lands prepared by the civil administration for the army, civil administration and valley residents. If someone wants to build a house, they only need to pay the residential land tax to the civil administration to buy it...
The roads inside the wooden castle are paved with stones, because the paving of these stones completely changed the muddy original condition of the wooden castle. In addition, large pits for accumulating fertilizers were built around the wooden castle. The feces excreted by the residents of the castle were forced to be poured into the pits for retting, so the wooden castle rarely had much odor.
At the beginning, the castle residents were not very used to this kind of clean and tidy castle, but over time everyone got used to it.
Beyond the three open spaces is a real fort wall. This fort wall was built for more than two months by the construction officer Lawrence and the adjutant Geer, who personally led more than a hundred war slaves and cost thousands of pfennigs. Almost all the rocks (natural stones) near the valley wooden fort and the cobblestones in the stream became the outer wall of the wooden fort. This kind of fort wall is enough to cope with most low-intensity war damage.
Follow the road paved with stones from the wooden castle in the valley and cross the wooden bridge over the stream to the other side. There is a large flat open space there with a row of wooden houses on the edge of the open space. This is the wooden castle garrison area. On weekdays, the security team under the Valley Guard Corps is stationed there. Every year during the off-season, registered peasant soldiers from several villages in the south also come here to participate in training.
At this time, there were several men who looked like officials standing at the entrance of the garrison, headed by Ruben, the newly appointed civil affairs manager of the village chief of Gujiandi.
Reuben was wearing a thick linen robe with a large sheepskin cloak on the outside. He also had a short sword slung around his waist, and his left foot was covered with a new prosthetic leg that had just been replaced.
"Steward Ruben, I have ordered to bring the second batch of peasant soldiers from four villages, please accept them." A leader of a newly built village trotted forward to greet the lame Steward Ruben.
Ruben nodded, adjusted the dagger at his waist, and motioned to the official holding a piece of birch bark next to him to start counting according to the roll. After the roll was taken, these dozens of peasants and soldiers would begin to eat public food and receive salary.
"It's getting late today, so you guys need to rest in the military camp first. Deputy Manager Emma has brought people to prepare food for you. Tomorrow morning I will personally take you to the Beiguan Army Fort to pick up the defense. The last batch of reinforcements going north have already set off, and the Beiguan Army Fort needs to be stationed and guarded as soon as possible. In addition, at noon tomorrow, 20 of you will be dispatched to escort military rations to the garrison camp in Jushi Town..."
Several village chiefs began to call their peasants and soldiers to enter the camp...
Looking further north, he crossed the Beiguan Army Fort, crossed the uninhabited wasteland, and arrived at the Great Stone Town garrison camp deep in the wasteland. Seventy or eighty peasant soldiers have just arrived here. They are the first batch of peasant soldiers recruited from the Barony of the Valley. These people will gather in Great Stone Town to wait for the grain from the valley. After the grass weapons arrived, they were issued with weapons and armor. Then, according to the selection and dispatch of Bass, the commander of the Valley Guard Corps, some of the most elite young men were separated. Under the leadership of eight instructors (or officers of the Guard Corps), they detoured from Andermatt Castle and entered the border of Yona Province, and then went north to fight for reinforcements.
The remaining peasants and soldiers will be deployed to the Southwest Farm, Wincheston Manor, Lane Manor and the garrison barracks in Boulder Town to fill the garrison vacancies...
Except for the border outposts, almost the entire rear area has been mobilized to support the Northland battlefield...