Although the Palohia Plateau on the east coast is not visually comparable to the Tambur Mountains on the west coast, its long stretches of flat land provide the Padrosi with a large number of resources that are easier to collect and places to settle.
Long before the rise of the Lamani Empire, ethnic minorities had always lived in the plateau area. Although it is difficult for people on the east coast to tell people apart from people on the west coast, to people on the west coast, these highlanders and lowland Lamanites all look exactly the same, but they are different in subtle ways. These ethnic minorities, who have been able to preserve their traditional culture due to geographical barriers, are still in constant friction with the mainstream groups of Lamanite society even though they have been conquered and incorporated into the empire for more than a thousand years.
They are somewhat inhumane and indifferent to mainstream society, and the road is difficult and rugged, so most businessmen will not choose them as trading partners. This leaves this unexplored gold mine, giving small individual businessmen a chance to make a living due to the competition between large chambers of commerce and more wealthy and powerful individual businessmen. But despite this, the team that Henry and the others followed this time were not the East Coast Highlanders in the traditional impression, but a branch of Lamanized mixed residents.
Just like the people who came from the grasslands in the Thoratin Highlands on the west coast, the orthodox Lamani heritage, which has stronger cultural appeal and more affluent and convenient lives, has naturally attracted and annexed countless ethnic minorities who originally had differences over thousands of years. Nowadays, most of them are already inconspicuous members of the Lamanite world. Newborns do not even know that their ancestors fought bloody battles with the Lamanites just to preserve their own culture.
This is the terrible thing about Laman's poison, but this time they were blessed by it.
Because they have been infected by the mainstream Lamani culture, these minority tribes who migrated from the highlands to the lowland areas are more approachable than their fellow tribesmen, and the risks of exchange and trade with them are therefore much reduced.
Poor mountains and rivers breed unruly people. In the lowland areas where the climate is more peaceful and the soil is more fertile, people can survive by living and working in peace and contentment. Naturally, no one will want to take risks and plunder.
After crossing the stone bridge, the road had a tendency to slope downward.
The miraculous workmanship of nature is really difficult for humans to understand. Although it is close to the Palohia Plateau, the highest altitude on the east coast, what they are going to is indeed the lowland area that ranks among the best in the entire Padrosi Empire.
Fortunately, unlike the Ridella Wetlands on the west coast, the lowlands in the southern part of the empire are far away from the coastline and are not soaked by sea water, so although it is relatively humid, it is still as habitable as most other areas of the Padrosi Empire.
"Come on - come on - come on, wait! Hold on, hold on!" Although the downhill road may seem like a relief to the hikers, it is a daunting task for the merchants who are carrying a cart full of goods. Big trouble.
The entire convoy of carriages stopped here, and people came down to help. The usefulness of the multiple thick iron hooks nailed to the sides of Padrosi's commercial carriage was clearly demonstrated at this moment. The merchants first covered the top of the open-air carriage with a large net and pulled it tightly to prevent any goods from falling. Then five strong men tied a thick hemp rope to the hook and pulled hard on the rear of the carriage. The chassis of the car only rested on the road to prevent it from overturning, while the merchants belonging to the two carriages in front kept soothing his pack horses and walked slowly across the steep slope in small steps.
Even though they were all experienced old businessmen, everyone was still frightened when going down this slope.
A packhorse itself weighs hundreds of kilograms. If a businessman is frightened and stops in front of it, he will be trampled and seriously injured, let alone pulling a whole cart of goods behind him.
If the horses get frightened and start running wildly down the mountain, once the acceleration and inertia are out of control, even if the merchant survives in the best possible outcome, the horses used to pull the cart and the goods on the cart will be destroyed.
Losing the capital on which a business relies is no different than death for a businessman.
"Be careful, be careful. Peace of mind, peace of mind, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay." Although this situation has happened several times, the businessman still needs to constantly comfort the packhorse, which is a bit dull compared to the war horse. The price of this type of draft horse is relatively low, but it is still much more expensive than a mule. Although mules, which are stupid and easily frightened, have outstanding endurance, when pulling carts for long distances, especially on such rugged mountain roads, choosing them in an attempt to save money will only result in paying more.
Be careful when sailing for thousands of years. Although merchants take risks every time they do business, this kind of risk is a choice made after weighing the pros and cons. The kind based on ignorance or arrogance is not called an adventure, but a self-destruction.
Back to the original point, this slope made the entire team move. All adults except the guards joined in pulling the carriages, not only commercial carriages, but also passenger carriages. They slowly walked down the somewhat steep slope one carriage at a time. It took most of the morning just to go down the slope. By the end of the day, almost everyone except the guarding mercenaries was Exhausted and panting.
Fortunately, after descending the last slope, the road ahead became relatively flat, so we stopped for a short time to repair it. As it was expected that most people would be very tired, they ate the pre-baked meal in the morning at noon. After it was cold, the food tasted not as good as the hot food that had just been cooked, but the hungry people also devoured it. Go care about that.
After lunch, the team paused for a rare moment.
The reason why the mercenaries who were escorts did not join the queue of pulling the cart was obvious and no one protested. This was because everyone else who had been busy all morning needed to take a nap to regain their energy. At this time, Henry and the dozen or so of them, who had retained their energy, needed to be awake outside and watch the surroundings.
After all, people's energy is limited, and each performing his or her duties is what a mature team should look like. If the mercenaries who are responsible for escort tasks do miscellaneous tasks and do other things every day, then there will be no need. How can they, who are exhausted, do it? Can be used.
Those who cannot distinguish the situation will always blame others for not doing enough and sit back every day, as if everyone in the world must help them, otherwise they will be cold-blooded.
At this point, Padrosi, the eastern empire, is much more mature than the west coast.
Time passed slowly and peacefully. Under the soft autumn sunshine, there were only birds and insects chirping around. It was so quiet that it was uncomfortable for a while.
It was around two o'clock in the afternoon when everyone woke up and reorganized their preparations. Although it was a little abrupt, they were ready to go their separate ways.
The travelers took the trail on the right and prepared to return to the main road heading south to the city-states in the southern part of the empire. Some were returning home to visit relatives, while others were returning from a trip to Parnilla. And the reason why they had to go on such a small road with businessmen before was, in the final analysis, to save money.
There are various carriage drivers who pull carriages in the empire. These people are different from the special carriage drivers hired by noble families. They make a living by pulling carriages and carrying passengers. Taking a carriage that leads directly to the highway is the choice of the richer people, because the only room you can live in in that place is a room in a large rest stop, and most people cannot afford it in terms of daily consumption.
Most ordinary families will choose this cheaper horse-drawn carriage as their mode of travel. Their carriages are usually divided into two parts. The part near the coachman's position can only accommodate one person's rest and a wider family space in the back. This separation is designed to ensure the privacy of travelers. After all, very few families are willing to spend many nights in the same space with a stranger.
Passengers in the direction of the fork in the road waved goodbye to them, and they no longer had the escort of mercenaries for the next short journey. However, they were about to return to a road guarded by imperial soldiers along the way, and the carriages used by poor ordinary families did not have much oil and water. Even bandits would not take the risk to rob them.
The team suddenly shrunk by more than half, making people feel a little empty.
Although we have only been traveling together for a few days, the lively scenes of travelers with their families have already been deeply engraved in our memories. Watching them disappear around the corner of the road on the other side, for a while only the merchants and guards were left in a quiet and unaccustomed way.
"Hey, if I don't want them to take this risk, I also want my family to accompany me to do business together." The businessman Mario who led the team - the one who talked to Mira before - uncle said with emotion. Saying this, it was obvious that he felt a little lonely for a short period of time after being separated from those passengers.
But loneliness is loneliness, and life must go on.
After packing their bags, the whole team embarked on the journey again, heading towards the mixed village in the south.
There are fewer people to protect, and more than half of the entire team is armed, making them in a sense less easy to mess with. Henry and the others were still the leaders. He and Mira, who were tall and wearing plate armor and riding war horses, were enough to scare off any unscrupulous people hiding among the dense roadside vegetation. The remaining eight mercenaries were now on a smoother road. In order to make up for some of the time spent going down the slope, they all rode on the merchant's carriage instead of walking.
It needs to be mentioned that Filippo's reticence has eased since yesterday. Obviously, playing the role of an injured and melancholy young man like this is still not suitable for him.
Although due to the man's face problem, he was embarrassed to apologize to Moreau and said that he lost his temper. But that irritable look that looked over there from time to time to see if the other party still minded not only made the other people in the team feel irritable, but also made the middle-aged mercenary feel creepy, wondering whether this young man In fact, I like male sex.
"Go and apologize!" The one who finally couldn't help but push him was our Luoan girl. She was riding on horseback and kicked Filippo's horse mercilessly. The horse screamed and neighed in fear and ran forward, while the young man who struggled to control it to turn around looked at the eyes of the remaining four people in his team and was too embarrassed to return to the queue.
He took a deep breath and plucked up the courage to run towards the place where the merchants were. Our Mr. Sage glanced at them, and as always, he complained in a heartfelt way: "I don't know which one is more annoying to him."
He said this, and Mira nodded, as did Margaret and Ferruccio, who were Filippo's old acquaintances.
"I feel the same way." The old housekeeper said softly, while Margaret snickered quietly. After talking for a long time at the rear, the mature advantages of the middle-aged mercenary Moro were revealed.
Even if his level is not high and he does not have much education, he is still a person who has experienced many things.
"I am also at fault for this matter, but if you go back later, you have to pay me for the sword." After people have a certain amount of experience, they will no longer hold on to one thing for a long time like they did when they were teenagers. Dao Canmore had already overcome this in his mind. After all, it was not just once or twice that lower-level mercenaries like them were ridiculed and looked down upon by nobles.
It was somewhat surprising that this aristocratic young man was so embarrassed that he came to him to apologize, and Filippo's approach also eased the atmosphere in the entire team. The inherent gap between the two classes is universal, but on the personal side, as long as they are willing to work hard, even people of different classes and cultural backgrounds will become friends after getting to know each other.
Human nature is complex, and human nature is also simple.
As long as we can put ourselves in each other's shoes, people can still understand each other more or less.
After resolving this knot in his heart, Filippo became cheerful again. He ran to the front and began to look like the irritable and impulsive person before. Although it has re-energized the atmosphere in the team separated from the travelers to a certain extent, it is still somewhat disturbing that this aristocratic young man who has never seen the countryside keeps asking questions like a little kid. People are upset.
"what is this flower?"
"What kind of bird is this?"
After the first time he asked casually and our white-haired girl subconsciously gave the answer, this guy couldn't stop asking questions anymore, until finally Mira got so annoyed that she drove her horse forward again and hit his horse's butt again. After a kick, Filippo screamed and ran out, finally ushering in peace again.
"Am I the only one who thinks this way? I started to miss him when he was sad and melancholy." The girl sighed, and Margaret beside her laughed softly again.
"Actually, he has not always been like this." The noble lady said this, and our sage shrugged again: "Men are all simple creatures."
he said.
The atmosphere became relaxed and relaxed, and the road ahead seemed less long and difficult.
Everyone ate in front of the same campfire for dinner that night, and after the actual exchange and conversation, despite the differences between the two classes, they still had a lot - probably more than many people thought. More in common.
The peaceful and harmonious atmosphere made Uncle Mario smile. After all, the last thing he wanted was for the guards in his team to be unable to work together when there was a conflict.
Time passed by, and after another morning of speeding up the next morning, they finally arrived at their destination.
In addition to the highlanders, this small mixed village in the south also has a large number of ordinary Lamanite farmers and their mixed descendants.
The strangeness of the Lamani language spoken with two accents in a village attracted the attention of five members of the mercenary group named "Little Explorers" by Margaret, but then they quickly noticed that the village Many people inside did not have very good expressions, and when they saw the merchants arriving, the expressions on their faces made Henry frown and Mira tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword.
That's not hatred or hostility.
But something more dangerous than that.
Desire and hope.
