Continuing south from Zhangzhou, we have officially entered the more prosperous central region of the Moon Country.
This is especially true near the coastline.
After leaving Zhangzhou from the Sangui border, the group's route did not go straight south, but moved slightly westward. This is partly due to the restrictions on the carriage's travel routes, as well as the need for material supplies.
The four-wheeled commercial carriage made by Rigar has advanced technology that has not yet been popularized in the Crescent Continent - although it is made of four wheels, it actually has good maneuverability. This special structure is said to come from a race of dwarf engineers who were friends with the Lamanites, and is called the Steering Wheel.
To put it simply, the front wheel part connected to the drawbar is centered on a pivot, creating a mode in which the front two wheels can steer independently.
In addition, the carriage Ryunosuke spent a lot of money to purchase was also equipped with an advanced shock absorption system. The axle is not rigidly combined with the body, but has an arc-shaped support frame made of elastically quenched steel as a buffer, so that even if the carriage travels on a relatively rough road, it will not damage the passengers and goods.
Such sophisticated steel smelting technology is rare in the empire, and even the well-informed missionaries were actually quite surprised - which is understandable, because this carriage is actually a combination of dwarves and Produced by the Southern Cities Alliance of Gnomish Craftsmanship.
The Lamanites in the south bordered on the dwarf lands in the mountains and had commercial exchanges with each other. Before the incident at Parnira, many dwarves were active within the empire through this relationship. But now, with the change of political trends in the Padrosi Empire, the "Raman Alone" trend of thought is clearly showing signs of revival. Even the human races of different ethnic groups are a little frightened, not to mention those who are more differentiated. Other people.
The craftsmanship of the dwarves has always amazed the humans. This does not only mean that their level is unmatched. Many works forged by master blacksmiths among humans are also treasures handed down from generation to generation. But the highest level and the average level need to be considered separately. Human blacksmith masters are like a flash in the pan, while dwarf products are not only superb but also maintain amazing consistency.
——In layman’s terms, they can mass-produce high-quality metal products.
This result is caused by a racial personality that is called rigorous at best and stubborn at worst. This kind of harshness and caution creates excellent finished products with a high degree of uniformity, but it also limits the space for free expression of creativity, making the dwarves often as stubborn as the ores in the mountains where they live - we digress. .
All in all, the carriages obtained from Ryunosuke are well made and perform extremely well. But that doesn't necessarily mean it's a benefit.
Just like the flower-guard swords loved by the Lamanites, complex things are exquisite and have their own practical value, but they also mean that care and maintenance require more energy.
Compared with the simple straight handguards on the west coast of Rigal, the east coast style handguards that look like birdcages and even have leaves and flowers carved on them require a lot of effort just to prevent rust - this is still the case today. in this way.
The elastic steel carriage may be comfortable for shock absorption, but the speed at which it rusts while walking among the humid mountains and forests of Crescent Continent is also a bit disturbing.
Moreover, this was originally a baggage carriage prepared by Ryunosuke for a team of more than a hundred people. The number of people on this team was much smaller than that of the original Ronin troops. Although it is quite comfortable to lay bedding inside the carriage and directly use it as a mobile shelter, there are too many vacant places in general. Considering the daily consumption and maintenance of the horses, it is a bit greedy to continue to go on the road like this. It's more than you can chew.
So there were many reasons for going to the prosperous coastline this time. In addition to material supplies and rust removal and maintenance, they also wanted to try to sell some of the carriages and horses to reduce the burden.
After leaving the sparsely populated areas to the east, the closer they got to the coastline, the more foreign faces the group walking on the national highway saw.
Lamanites wearing Kazuto clothing and Rigal clothing mingled among Kazuto's ranks, and the people around them seemed to be accustomed to their presence. This surprised the Luoan girl and Galeva, but it was also because of this that they no longer had to hide in the carriage and could come out for some air.
After some inquiries with the passing Lamanites, they learned that although Xinjing restricted Nanman merchant ships from berthing and trading in some ports, it did not restrict people from traveling to other places on Kazuto ships.
Therefore, although the ships from Rigal were concentrated further south, the foreign passengers on the ships spread to a wider area by transferring to Kazuto's merchant ships.
This is another piece of information that even the missionaries don’t know. The reason can be understood from the distinctive southern Laman accent of the Laman uncle who kindly answered the question - almost all of these Lamanites are from the Southern City-State Alliance.
Although the Padrosi Empire and the Water City Ella are from the same source as the North and South Laman, there are still some differences.
Especially considering that the religious background of the missionaries and the merchants of the southern city-state alliance have always been in conflict.
The White Church is a monotheistic religion with absolute authority. Although when we talk about the history of the empire, we always say that the era of **** has passed? Today's church has declined and no longer has the right to speak as before? But this is only the view of some experts and scholars. In many places, especially the bases of the major knights in the northern part of the empire, the church still has a one-word existence.
They control wealth and knowledge and believe that human beings need to strictly discipline themselves to avoid pleasure and worldly fireworks. They should dedicate themselves to the only supreme existence higher than human beings-but the businessmen think exactly the opposite.
Businessmen pursue personal pleasure and personal wealth, and often violate religious precepts, if not scorn them.
One side believes in strict self-discipline, everything is external, and dedication to God is the highest; the other side believes that people should be put first, and it would be too wasteful not to enjoy life in this world.
Completely different philosophies of survival make them incompatible? And the secular power holders such as the aristocracy in between often become the objects that religion and capital compete for influence.
——This is precisely the reason why missionaries know nothing about what the merchants in the south are doing.
Because today's Padrosi Empire nobles are obviously more influenced by businessmen. They are more inclined to pursue personal fame and wealth and pursue profits, rather than following the White Church as they did thousands of years ago.
For various reasons, the Southern City-State Alliance, which represents the Lamanite merchant force, has naturally become a thorn in the church's side.
And when the incompatibility between the two sides was transferred to the land of Xinyuezhou, such a strange scene appeared - the white church missionaries who incited the Chinese rebellion were hostile and wary of the new Beijing? They need to keep a low profile and not be in the limelight. Avoid being seen. At the same time, the merchants from the southern city-state alliance, who are also Lamanites, can walk freely and integrate into the local environment.
The new information brought all kinds of thoughts to the group. Henry and his group could be more exposed and enjoy the fresh air. But the missionaries still had to stay in the carriage as much as possible - although they were actually free to walk as long as they changed their clothing, it was a great insult in itself to ask the priests to change their religious clothes.
The result of insisting on one's position is that one becomes increasingly unable to interact with others, and this becomes more serious in areas where southern barbarian activity is intense - but it is not so obvious in the northern vassal territory.
Because the more Lamanites there were, the more people could distinguish the difference between merchants and priests.
Some are happy and some are sad? With the missionaries having to avoid the public eye even more, Henry, Mira, and Galeva took to the streets in a swaggering manner.
Busy traffic? The unique fishy smell of seafood hits your face as soon as you enter the city gate.
This place is called Minamata Port, and it is a large fishing port in central China that relies on fishing for a living.
We have said in the past that the Crescent Island Continent looks like a crescent moon when viewed from above? And Minamata Port is located in the concave part near the middle. Because of this topographic effect, the nearby sea area is relatively stable. And because the sea water in the central part is warmer? The seafood here is also extremely rich.
This sea is called the Shiranui Sea.
Is the so-called "Shiranui" pronounced "Siranu" or "Siranui" in the Kazuto language a unique mirage phenomenon? In a translation that can be understood by Rigar people, it is a concept similar to "will-o'-the-wisp" - —that is, seeing fire where there is no possibility of flame.
And the Shiranui Sea with this name? Naturally, it is an area of sea where people often witness flames on the sea.
There are many rumors about this among the people: there are endless theories such as the ghosts of the dead at sea, but there is no answer that can convince everyone.
Coming here actually reminded the Luoan girl of Parnilla.
Although there are huge differences in architectural styles, the salty air, the non-stop flying seagulls, and the vitality and vitality in the busyness of the same port cities are all the same.
It wasn't until she came to Minamata Port that she truly felt that the Moon Country was a big country.
Although the things she has seen and felt along the way have been emphasizing to her the long history and rich cultural knowledge reserves of the Moon Country, these connotative things need to be thought deeply to understand, and dozens of things like this A huge ship is moored on the sea, its sails are like a dense forest, and there are a whole row of guards standing on the towering tower. You can appreciate the strength of the Crescent Moon's country at a glance.
Fishermen are drying their nets on the tidal flats, and seafood in large fish baskets is being transported by relay next to the port. Foreign faces are no longer uncommon among the guests. Although the generally taller heights of the group attracted some attention, they only glanced at them and continued to go about their own business.
They went straight to the consumables area they had learned about. Due to the large number of ships, grocery stores responsible for making and selling related consumables also prospered.
After all, there are some Rigal-like habits that cannot be changed. Even though they have been in the Crescent Continent for a long time and have worn Kazuto clothes and used Kazuto tools and weapons, they still prefer to use the tools and weapons brought from Rigal. of those.
Leather boots and various leather goods have become dilapidated along the way. Waterproofing on ships is very important, so they can finally buy more consumables such as beeswax at the seaport.
With waxing and oiling, and repairing the seams, the leather goods can look new again.
High-quality cowhide products can last for hundreds of years, and the last sword hanging that Henry had replaced was like this. The frost in the north left cracks in it, while the humidity in the south left black mold spots on the shoulder straps. The brand-new sword hanging with the same structure has begun to show a deep brown color after passing through the wind and frost. In the Crescent Continent with a relatively high climate and humidity, it will not crack. However, the lack of suitable maintenance materials along the way still leads to some stiffness, aging, and lack of toughness.
Pumice stones for polishing, oils and beeswax for leather care, and sturdy sewing thread and needles were all sold in grocery stores catering to sailors. Our Mr. Sage and the Luoan girl who were adventurers took Lulu, Ling and Galeva to be responsible for the purchase of these supplies, while the samurai and his party went to purchase bulk supplies such as main and non-staple food, and were responsible for Find a way to get rid of some of the carriages and horses.
The remaining oiran ladies and Mr. Jian went to a nearby drugstore together.
Now that Saburo is dead, Sakura, who once lost her goal, walked out without being depressed for long. She finally decided to further explore the medical skills she already knew slightly, and became a disciple of Master Jian. She planned to become a medical woman and use medical skills as a means of making a living in the future.
Except for the missionary and his party who can only stay in the hotel, everyone else has their own tasks to complete.
The sage and the Luoan girl purchased sufficient but not excessive maintenance supplies. Adventurers need to be good at calculating their own load and capital expenditure. You can’t buy everything you want because you can’t afford it and you can’t carry it.
It is enough to meet the indicator of "it is enough if you save it and use it carefully". Having abundant supplies and maintenance supplies that you don’t have to worry about sounds great, because your fault tolerance rate becomes higher, and even if you lose part of it, there will still be some left.
But buying and bringing too many things that you don’t need will actually only add unnecessary burden.
The beeswax in Crescent Continent is like leather, not as abundant as in Rigar where beekeeping and animal husbandry are popular, so the price is more than three times that of Rigar - this made the Luoan girls feel a little pained, but they still bought it. In addition, they also bought some anti-rust paint for the carriage's suspension system - they chose raw materials because they only spent 80% of the money.
The samurai's armor, sword scabbards, naginata, spears, and bows are all coated with lacquer, which is made from the sap cut from the natural lacquer tree and mixed with pigments.
This is a high-end precious item. The paint required to paint a set of armor is enough for a commoner to live for two months. So naturally it is not the most common consumable.
What Henry and his party bought was linseed oil. Flax is widely grown in the Crescent Continent, and the vegetable oil extracted from the oil varieties is widely used and relatively cheap.
Use linseed oil to blend mineral powder such as cinnabar to increase the consistency, and then use a pig hair or horse hair brush to evenly apply it on the canvas to make a waterproof canvas. As long as the mixing ratio is right, this homemade paint has good hiding power. By using volcanic pumice to absorb the vibrations of the carriage, remove rust and then apply paint, the steel parts can be better protected from being affected by moisture.
There are still many things to do, but for now, after shopping.
They wanted to have a good meal first.
