After passing the castle under construction, the vast forest also came to an end. The surrounding low hills are filled with pastures and cultivated land, with occasional small patches of woods.
Gradually there were some scattered wooden huts on the roadside, which seemed to belong to those wealthy free farmers. Simon even saw several families of free farmers with their own stables and horses in the stables that were not very strong.
"This is the land of the royal family. During the war, these free farmers would wear armor, ride on horses with spears, and join the king's army as cavalry." Gabriel saw the farmland surrounded by fences on the roadside, looking good. A free farmer wearing a woolen roll-sleeved shirt was sitting on the ground and resting. "But these people are few after all. Even in the king's army, most of the soldiers are farmers with pitchforks and sticks."
"With the fighting power of these guys who eat dandelion salad and drink nettle soup every day, how can they stop the menacing Magyars!" Regel looked at the sallow-looking farmers in the distant village who were plowing the cultivated land. The land remains barren year after year, he said worriedly.
"Haha, that's the king's business, and there's nothing we can do to change it." Fatty is a natural optimist.
Unlike Regel's hometown, those Magyars who migrated from the far east and constantly infested the southeastern and northeastern territories of the kingdom rarely crossed the vast territory of the kingdom and came to the northwest of the kingdom near the Wadden Sea. of. Therefore, the people of the Barony of Dorsten, located at the extreme northwest edge of the kingdom, had only heard of the Magyars.
"Hoffman, you can never understand what those disgusting pagans would do to the outrage of both humans and gods." Speaking of those damn barbarian pagans, Regel gritted his teeth. "That year, the horse-riding The pagans plundered the villages in our territory. The followers of Satan, whose skin and appearance were completely different from ours, were cunning and well-planned. They killed the entire village, even the women and children. Waiting for our army On arrival, they had fled."
"Oh, what the hell, a devil on a horse!" The fat man frowned, but he didn't really realize how scary those Magyars were.
"We had no choice but to abandon the infantry team and continue the pursuit with the cavalry in the territory. But who knew that those devils on horseback would be so good at using despicable bows and arrows. As long as they have someone on the swaying horseback Turn back and draw the bow, and some of the cavalry we are chasing will fall off their horses. This damn scar on my face was also left at that time. If I had tilted my head half a beat slower at that time, it would have been another sad story. It's gone." Regel couldn't help but touch the long wound on his face again, and said with lingering fear.
"Lord Regel is right. What those Magyar horse archers are best at is draining the enemy's physical strength and using bows and arrows to kill the pursuers." Gabriel nodded in agreement and filled his bottle with fruit wine. Screwing on the lid, "Not only that, those pagans not only swept across Bavaria and Swabia, but also crossed the Rhine and plundered Alsace and Lorraine. I later heard that they were in Burgundy, north They left their footprints in Gaul and even the Iberian Peninsula, what a swarm of dirty locusts!”
As everyone talked, the number of caravans and pedestrians on the road gradually increased, and they even encountered a group of soldiers escorting several carriages transporting supplies.
"Look, is that a pagan caravan?" The fat man pointed to a group of caravans not far away wearing heavy Eastern Roman-style clothes and asked Gabriel in a low voice.
I saw the guys in the caravan wearing cheap colorful uniforms and multi-layer robes, with long scarves around their necks. The caravan guards in the caravan wore Dongluo-style studded leather armor and strapped auxiliary armor, as well as tall pointed pot helmets and domed pot helmets.
"Oh no, they are not pagans. They come from the distant Roman Empire, where the gospel of God shines." Gabriel looked at the caravan carefully, "but there were two Kievan Rus in that caravan. Guys, it’s hard to say whether they’re heretics or not.”
Sure enough, the fat man also discovered that there were two big guys in the caravan who were dressed obviously differently from others. They had rough beards, wore short linen robes similar to the Viking style, and short armored vests. They had throwing axes and armed axes on their waists. At this time, they were saying something he couldn't understand at all. Languages play tricks on each other.
Simon and his party kept moving forward along this dirt road. Gradually, some small pebbles embedded in the soil appeared on the dirt road. Simon knew that this could alleviate the situation of the carriage wheels sinking into mud pits on rainy days.
"We should be there soon." Simon also noticed that there were more human and animal feces on the roadside, and the familiar smell of mixed feces and urine gradually became stronger.
"Look, that's Dresden!" Suddenly, Pedi, who was riding in front, pointed at the faint outline of the town in the distance and shouted.
"Thank God, this journey has been smooth. Thank you for your love, my dear Lord!" Sir Regel took out a small silver cross pendant from his neck, put it on his lips, kissed it, and then piously He made the sign of the cross on his chest.
The city of Dresden was built on the Elbe River. From a distance, you can see the towering stone Lord's Tower, or the Royal Palace, by the river. Outside the palace tower, there are tall wooden and stone city walls and arrow towers guarding the four corners of the city wall.
In front of the royal castle, a short wooden wall surrounded a large area of houses made of wood and thatch. Outside the wooden city wall, there were many simple half-ground shacks and small tents built by poor people using various things.
"That seems to be the arena where the athletic competition is held!" Regel pointed to a large piece of grassland surrounded by a simple wooden fence not far from the city. On the edge of the wooden fence, there was a long strip made of rough logs. of auditorium.
It was probably close to the athletic competition at this time. Next to this simple arena, densely packed colorful tents were set up. Colorful flags embroidered with various coats of arms were flying between the tents. It seemed that there were private soldiers and attendants brought by various nobles living there.
"We don't have many people with us, so let's just go to the tavern to stay. If there is really no vacancy in the tavern, we can camp outside." Simon knew without even thinking that the poor grassland had been occupied by those brutal and rude guys. What a waste.
Not long after, Simon and others arrived at the slum outside the first wooden wall outside Dresden. The people here wear dirty, patched clothes and have dirty looks on their faces. Many people can't even afford the cheapest beggar's shoes, so they walk around barefoot in the feces and urine all over the floor, going about their business.
While passing by a small square, Simon saw a monk carrying a wooden basket distributing small pieces of broken black bread to the poor people with yellow faces and skinny muscles.
"Benedictine monks, they regularly help the poor." Gabriel looked at the monk with high respect in his eyes.
In fact, in the early days of the founding of many religious orders, the monks were enthusiastic about helping others, loving charity, and wholeheartedly abiding by religious rules. But later on, corruption is basically unavoidable. As a result, there were monks who couldn't stand the corruption of the old order and started to create new orders, but later they fell back on the old path of corruption of the old order, forming a vicious circle.
Simon and his party explained their purpose of coming, passed through the city gate with wooden outer wall, and entered the inner city of Dresden.
The residents of the inner city are much better than the poor outside, both in terms of dress and spirit. At the same time, Simon could see many shops and handicraft workshops in the inner city, including tailor shops, shoe shops, grocery stores and the like.
Fortunately, the tavern in the inner city still had free rooms, but the clever shopkeeper took the opportunity to charge a small premium. Compared with those stingy nobles who are always willing to spend every penny, Simon doesn't care about this little extra money.
In addition, Pedi also arrived in Dresden as he wished, but he didn't seem very excited.
"This is completely different from what I thought the capital of the German Kingdom would look like!" Peidi sighed. And Simon estimated that in Peidi's mind, the capital of the kingdom should be tall and majestic, and should be a place similar to Anle Township.
"Peddy, you have arrived in Dresden now. Do you plan to continue following us, or say goodbye to us?" Simon asked curiously.
"Master, I'd better follow you first. I heard that there is a group battle in the athletic competition where nobles bring their own private soldiers. I want to participate in the battle as your private soldier!" Peidi thought for a while and raised his head, his eyes filled with excitement. The glow of anticipation.
"Okay, no problem. You can live with Fat Miller and the others these days. It won't be a problem anyway." Simon was happy to have an experienced helper to help him.
"Hey, if you know what's going on, get out of the way. The person behind me is the noble Sir Grobber. He is the knight of the Duke of Swabia!" On the narrow wooden stairs of the tavern, Simon and his group happened to meet him. An arrogant and domineering servant. The attendant seemed to have recognized the aristocratic status of Simon and others, but still raised his head arrogantly and shouted loudly at Simon and his group who were going up the stairs.
"Who is blocking the aisle down there?" A tall man wearing a fine hooded long-sleeved mail mail with a gorget and a finely crafted heraldic robe looked dissatisfied at Simon and Lei Jie at the bottom of the stairs. Er, "It turns out they are two hillbilly knights. Please forgive me for never seeing your family coat of arms. Perhaps I can interpret it as the fact that you two were born humble, and your family is unknown and not worth mentioning. Something else to say Yes, I have never given way to weaklings who are unable to restrain themselves."
"You..." How could Regel have ever been so angry? He quickly touched the hilt of the sword at his waist. If Simon hadn't held down his hand immediately, he would have definitely let this arrogant guy have a taste of his power.
"It's very good that you don't give way to the weaklings who have no strength. We are just the opposite. Come on, please come this way!" After Simon finished speaking, he pulled Regel aside and motioned to the fat Miller and others behind him to get out of the way. the way.
"That's ridiculous." The tall and sturdy knight of the Duke of Swabia's palace looked a little unclear. He actually thought that Simon and others had surrendered. He walked down alone when his servants opened their mouths in surprise. Upstairs.
"Hahahaha!" A burst of laughter erupted in the tavern. Drinkers, businessmen, travelers, bards, and local handicraft workers from all over the world were all looking at this The muscular yet simple-minded knight laughed heartily.
"Damn it," the Duke of Swabia's knight's face turned red and green for a long time before he noticed the trap in Simon's words after hearing laughter. He couldn't say a word for a long time, "It seems that you two You are also participating in the competition, so good, I will remember you, I hope you can still save your life and return to your boring hometown, hum!"
"We'll see." Regel said disapprovingly to the back of the Swabian knight.
"Don't be careless and underestimate the enemy. Since he can be a knight in the inner palace beside the Duke, this person must be not simple!" Simon thought carefully in his mind.
