On the national highway that officially enters the Fuso Province, there stands a huge gate made of blue bricks called Shancheng Pass. The name of the local province is written in Japanese characters on the top of the towering gate. There are soldiers stationed on both sides and at the top of the gate. Among them are not only Kazuto infantry, but also a small number of taller and more powerful male ghosts.
Even though Sage and Kaleva stood out from the crowd as Suomir people, they did not attract much attention in the area that truly belonged to Fuso. This was probably the reason.
Before passing through the gate and entering Fuso, the group also needed to register their weapons and equipment and pay tolls.
The fact that they carried weapons, wore armor, and rode horses did not attract much attention as did their height. Perhaps it was because there were many warrior nobles among the visitors. Although the faces of the foreigners were a bit novel, the personnel responsible for guarding the city gates still maintained a very high level of professionalism. They did not ask too many questions but were business-like, requiring them to indicate their purpose and show their identity cards as honorary nobles.
The layer upon layer of inspections caused the group to be stuck at the checkpoint for a long time. Therefore, some ashigaru were separated from the guards at the checkpoint. After saluting, they respectfully led the impatient local nobles behind them to other entrances and exits for inspection.
The strict inspection was due to Henry and others' special identities and their first visit. When the group waited for nearly 20 minutes and finally completed the inspection, the gatekeeper handed them a string of wooden signs with different numbers and said Told to keep it well to avoid accidental loss.
"Next!" The businesslike and even somewhat indifferent attitude was completely different from the serious and aristocratic people next to them, but the group didn't say anything and just passed.
Behind them, a group of merchants pulling an ox cart directly showed the same token. The gatekeeper, the ashigaru-gumi, opened the manual and searched according to the number, and then matched the physical symbol of the token holder above to confirm that it was held by him and They were let through quickly after the last visit.
"Those who do not have licenses need to be inspected, and those who steal licenses will be arrested directly and forced to break into the gate and be killed on the spot!" Another ashigaru-gumi leader standing above the door warned in a loud voice: "Cooperate with the official inspection, no one is allowed. exception!"
He said this, but at the same time, there were many local nobles at another door who checked symbolically and were let in directly.
"Aiming at merchants, civilians and southern barbarians." The white-haired girl looked back at the scene and muttered.
"Probably because of the White Church and the rebellion in the domain, the nerves have become tense." The sage said without looking back.
Fuso, as a territorial province located in the core area of Crescent Continent, is actually the most sensitive area for such issues. Because here is not only the settlement of the He clan, but also the ghost clan and the Hayato clan.
As the second largest ethnic group in the Moon Country after Kazuto, Hayato has launched rebellions many times in its 4,000-year history and even once proclaimed himself king. Although the ghost clan as a whole has not caused any major troubles, Xinjing is constantly afraid of them because of their extremely high individual combat abilities.
They are a small number of elite units. They may not be able to compete with a large number of samurai and ashigaru when used on a frontal battlefield, but they can work wonders in certain situations.
After all, if more than 100 heavily-armed ghost warriors gathered together to forcefully carry out beheading tactics on the enemy, it would probably be difficult for the mortal army to stop them, no matter how courageous they were.
With both major ethnic groups gathered in this area, not only is it a matter of escaping, Xinjing also needs to prevent outsiders from affecting these existences.
In fact, the civil strife in the Moon Country that was previously stirred up by the White Church was initially aimed at the Oni and Hayato tribes.
Their high combat effectiveness is regarded as extremely reliable by the Raman side, and can be used to cause long-term internal chaos in the Kingdom of the Moon. It's just that Fusang's defenses were too perfect, and eventually they turned to instigating rebellion against the Chinese in the directly-governed prefecture.
"What do you want to do when you cross the ocean?" This time the person talking about it was the stupid green Kalaiwa. As a person from the neighboring country of Padrosi, he was deeply aware of the aggression that has always existed in the Lamani culture. Have experience.
But directly interjecting his own thoughts onto other people and feeling incomprehensible to other people's behavior is proof that he is still young and impulsive.
The country of the Moon, which is rich in products, has many resources that even the Empire and the White Church are very coveted. And with the reality that the power of the Church is gradually declining in Rigal, they will inevitably seek to spread their faith overseas more frequently to increase their influence. .
"The Romance of Fairy Wood"
The southern part of the Mobigas Inland Sea is led by the city-state alliance, and together with the emerging merchant class of many large cities in the Padrosi Empire, they are trying to make more profits based on ports and sea routes. And nothing is more profitable than unique products from exotic places.
These emerging classes who believe in money but not God are no longer willing to donate their hard-earned money to the church. The white church, which believes that its faith and influence are dwindling, wants to cultivate devout believers in uncultivated virgin land and then obtain from them. More donations continue to maintain a dominant position in both financial power and influence.
The new tycoon is hungry and thirsty, the old tycoon is anxious, but the actions of the two are so similar.
In addition, the imperial nobles and the royal family also want to get a piece of the pie - all this is like a repeat of the Lamansi expedition that happened on the Rigar Road in the past. Although the east coast looks relatively big, but except for After the vast amounts of barren land on the Parosian Plateau, there are actually not many wealthy territories left. After the internal resources of the people in the Laman countries are no longer enough, they will inevitably think about developing outwards. This time, the target is even more distant.
The Kingdom of the Moon is a country far larger than those empires in Rigal. We have repeatedly stressed this concept, but the description in words is ultimately feeble.
The vastness of Xinyuezhou is not only reflected in its land area, but also in its resource output. Although Crescent Continent generally produces less high-quality iron ore resources, thanks to the unique local climate - and the Druyin ruins that only our sage knows - there are various crops and the like. The resource output is far more stable and abundant than Rigal.
The population of the entire continent and the entire empire can be fed by the crops they cultivate alone, and there is even room for other industries. This is actually a feat that is far more shocking than a straightforward verbal description.
Behind it is the crystallization of the wisdom and blood and sweat of the Crescent Continent people for thousands of years. It is the planning of the farming area by the land doctors, the research on soil and seeds, climate and wind and rain by the Xingyong doctors, and the countless farmers who have followed their own rules generation after generation. of farming.
The concept of a single country occupying an entire continent is far beyond the imagination of the Rigar people, and this is where Kazuto's pride lies. Lamanite scholars believe that the governance ability of an empire is related to the efficiency of messengers delivering messages between their capital and the frontier. Once this time exceeds two weeks, the empire's governance strength will be greatly reduced, and rebellions will easily occur on the frontier.
Xinyuezhou is not exempt from this theory. The overly large territory means that most of Xinjing's time and energy are used to maintain territorial integrity and internal stability. The vassal land and the more distant Yi land have similar concepts, and there is also a series of islands in the south of the Moon Country, areas where pirates frequently appear with low jurisdiction.
From the perspective of the Rigar people, most Kazuto people are born with a lack of adventurous spirit, are generally conservative and unwilling to take action. And the reason for this is because they really don't need to go on an expedition - the Moon Country is too big.
A peasant child from Rigar may dream of becoming a businessman or an adventurer in the future, but a Kazuto peasant child will be angrily scolded by his parents once he says the former, because doing business is even more despicable and despicable than farming, even if it can earn money. to more money. The concept of the latter simply does not exist.
Wandering around and conquering the world? Aren't they refugees? But don't say that those sneaky guys are worthy of admiration.
As long as the country is unified and internally peaceful, the products of this land are enough for everyone to live a prosperous life. For this reason, this country pays more attention to the construction of spiritual civilization than Rigal's country. When Kazuto lived a stable life and could bathe every day and even commoners could read, they would see the large number of illiterate visitors from Rigar who only saw money from trade, and would belittle them as "southern barbarians" and consider them to be inferior to Kazuto. It's not unreasonable.
In the eyes of the people of the Oyue Kingdom with rich products and rich cultural heritage, the Rigar people live in an area that is not as big as their own province in total, but they are divided into several so-called "countries" and are sometimes hostile to each other. .
Most of those "national battles" with a scale of only a few hundred or thousands of people were ridiculed as "village struggles" by the well-informed Kazuto nobles, although most of these mockers themselves had never experienced large-scale battles or even any battles.
In the eyes of the Rigal people, who are under great pressure to survive internally and are quite chaotic, Kazuto's strict rules and too many red tapes that they are proud of are proof of impracticality. Those evocative calligraphy, Chinese paintings, and texts that serve as unforgettable historical evidence are worthless in the eyes of Lamanite merchants. They can only produce white silver, silk, tea, and various items. Only wealth is trustworthy. .
On a personal level, there is not much difference between the Rigal people and the Kazu people. You will be angry because of similar things, and you will also be moved by similar things. But from the perspective of the country and nation, they have so many differences.
The pragmatism of the Rigarians is seen as "honorless and barbaric", while the cultural and social rules that Kazuto values are considered by the Rigarians to be "superfluous and overly complicated". The contradiction that exists in the fundamental concept has created the fact that even if Henry and others speak the language of Kazuto and move around this land for a long time, they will always be ostracized.
This became even more serious after crossing the border in Fusang.
The vigilance they received after passing through the gate did not diminish at all, and there were often unfriendly looks from the samurai troops passing by along the way. Most of the local residents also ignored them.
The local residents of Fuso, which was once the old capital, seemed to have a deep sense of arrogance. Even the honorary noble tokens issued by Xinjing were not very popular among them.
It has served as the capital several times over the course of thousands of years. Its earliest history can be traced back to the first year of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Fuso is lined with towns of various sizes. In addition to large-scale residential areas, there are some Hayatos who live mixed with Kazuto, and their slightly different styles of clothing can occasionally be seen on the road.
But perhaps more eye-catching than the differences in these national costumes are the countless eye-catching white stone pillars lining both sides of national highways and older stone streets.
The familiar style reminded the Luoan girl of the elven buildings she had seen in the giant forest before.
It was almost dusk when the group entered the customs, and the inspection at the door took some time. After walking a short distance, the sky quickly darkened.
And just at the moment when the sun disappeared, the beautiful cursive characters on the white stone pillars evenly placed along the road lit up one by one, and a soft white light illuminated both sides of the road clearly visible.
The illuminated stone pillars of different styles and the lanterns hanging on the paper-wood structure of the Japanese people's house in the distance create a unique liquid crystal that looks like stars in the sky. It is said that if you climb to the Yamashiro Shrine on Mount Kongo near Fusomon Gate, you can look down. , this scene will echo the Milky Way in the sky.
This is also the reason for this section of the road inward from Shancheng Pass.
It was recorded as "Galaxy Road" on the "Inner Map of the Otsutsuki Kingdom" of the Bureau of Land and Resources.
The mountains in the distance appear dark against the dark blue background that is about to fall, but the edges have gradually resembled the outline of the lake. The exotic stone pillars and Kazuto-style paper-wood buildings are matched with the huge physiques of the ghosts and Hayato walking on the road. The special costumes of the tribe, once entering the territory of Fuso, although they are still in the Kingdom of the Moon, it feels like a foreign land compared to Nanman Street in Xinjing.
Compared to Xinjing, which is connected in all directions and is the center of the north and south, Fuso has a longer history. Although it has not yet reached the capital, it still has an indescribable unique charm.
The white and soft light illuminates the surrounding night, making Fuso different from other places in Crescent Continent. People actually rest later at night.
The locals seem to have long been accustomed to this kind of light that does not need to be artificially lit and stays on at night.
"The magic of the elves is quite well preserved." Even though he was walking under such a strange scene, the sage's tone remained calm. But the Luoan girl couldn't help but screamed "Wow" when she saw this scene.
Some of the civilians passing by immediately cast a look of disdain on him and muttered in a low voice: "A country bumpkin from the Southern Barbarians."
Mira's keen ears caught this sentence, which immediately made her feel a little unhappy, so she retorted: "Then do you even know what these stone pillars are?"
She retorted in Kazuto's fluent language, but the man obviously didn't know that the Luoan girl could understand and speak their language. He immediately looked a little panicked and said in a stuttering tone: "This, this is a relic from the age of the gods. It is a gift from the gods.”
"Hey, does that mean you didn't build it?" She looked at him with provocative eyes.
"Hey, aggressive, Southern barbarian women are indeed all that." The man continued to speak harshly, but then glanced at the dark blue hair of the doctor among the group: "I have something urgent, and I won't care about you for the most part!" Turn around! He picked up his wide hakama and left quickly.
Such a scene attracted the attention of many people around. Some of them laughed softly, but many others tried to stay further away from them.
"My mood is ruined." The girl from Luoan muttered. She couldn't quite understand why this man could be so arrogant about something that she didn't participate in the construction and didn't really understand. But some things are inherently unreasonable. .
"I'm so angry." The angry white-haired girl said loudly, and before anyone else could respond, one of the people laughing quietly came over.
The lady, who was similar in height to the doctor and dressed in Hayato's clothes, bowed slightly to them. This was the first time anyone, including Ashigaru and commoners, had met each other since entering Fuso territory. really.
"If you don't mind it, why don't you come and stay at the inn." She said in a calm and unhurried tone.
"Oh? Inviting us Southern Barbarians, who most people are afraid to avoid?" the sage raised his eyebrows and asked.
"I just think that you guys are really interesting. I wanted to have a chat. It's a pity that I missed it because I was trapped by mundane things." She raised her head, and the moment her eyes met Henry's, the sage could clearly see that those eyes were emerald green. The color and face are slightly different from Kazuto's.
"After all, I am old."
"The most important thing is time."
The woman, who looked to be no more than twenty years old, spoke in a tone that sounded like she had experienced many years.
