The year was 4165 in the Great Lunar Calendar, 3 years in the West Coast United Kingdom, and May 1532 in the Padro Silaman New Calendar.
Spring is about to go away and summer is approaching quietly. Henry and his party, who have stayed in Fuso for nearly two months, finally obtained the great sword made for the Luoan girl.
It was not the group's original intention to delay for such a long time, but they were forced to do so.
The workshop that made their swords was repeatedly delayed due to the hostility between the Japanese nobles and the civilians of many races in Fuso. In particular, the Oni clan lost many of their highnesses one after another, although the patriarch still worked hard to suppress it and avoid it. Conflicts and private hostility toward the samurai class became increasingly serious.
In the end, in order to prevent the situation from getting out of control due to the rising blood of one or two people, the patriarch simply chose to recall all members of the ghost clan. Whether they were in the workshop or serving in the army, they all returned to the ghost village and stayed behind closed doors. No visitors.
Without these strong ghost laborers, many workshops and army logistics have become disconnected. Because the work that one ghost can do if replaced by a human man, at least six or seven people, and this is the season of spring and summer farming, suddenly manpower is needed everywhere, and the inability to fill this part of the manpower vacancy will naturally lead to The order was delayed.
The conflict between the Oni clan and the Kazuto nobles is a temporary problem that has been resolved. The Himekokoji family that ruled Fuso had made such a judgment two months ago. They had concluded the decision and they were satisfied. No one else was allowed to raise this issue again, otherwise they would be challenging the authority of the Himekokōji family.
However, this temporary problem has not been completely resolved for two months, and the longer it is delayed, the more serious it becomes.
There are a large number of local civilians in Fuso who sympathize with the ghost clan, and most of them are aware of the development of the situation. Not only the ghost clan itself, but also many grassroots workers such as Hayato and Kazuto were angry about this matter.
Although they are insignificant, they account for the vast majority of the entire Fuso population.
This matter was discussed in the streets and alleys, and one by one, one by one, one by one, one by one, even compiled it into a story, which was sung and performed everywhere. However, the Ji Xiaoji family's extreme dissatisfaction and suppression of the disgraceful role they played in it made people spread the relevant deeds more secretly but widely.
On the surface, all this seems to have disappeared. Although there are still some rumors, the matter seems to have been suppressed.
The Ji Xiaolu family still rules the entire Fuso. The head of the family has already shifted his attention. After the death of his son, he is now worried about whether his family property will be occupied by the incompetent heirs of his relatives. Therefore, his focus is on arranging various measures to suppress the distribution of relatives. Home means and choices include distant relatives.
He thought that his authority had not been shaken in any way, and that his remarks had so many people applauding that everyone should accept them.
The Himekokoji family that ruled Fuso fell into a dilemma that most authorities would fall into - there were too many voices from the public. After filtering, they only listen to the words of their cronies. Once these cronies only say what they are willing to hear for their own benefit or to please authority, the real problems will not be noticed and taken seriously.
And even if all this dragged on until the ghost tribe recalled all the tribesmen, causing a large number of orders for Fuso's workshops to be postponed, they just felt that the civilians were not working hard enough.
The nobles also have more important issues to deal with such as family property division, power inheritance and internal strife, as well as the life and death and fatigue of common people.
Not worth mentioning.
– But let’s get back to where we started.
With the thought that the delay was doomed, our Mr. Sage simply decided to place an additional order after discussing it with the Luoan girl.
The dagger he first gave to Mira would be dismantled and recast, and this was the white-haired girl's own idea. She could sense that major events were about to happen on this continent, and they had never been accepted. And the foreigner who is tolerant may not have a chance to appear in this situation.
They are about to go away, but all the joys and sorrows, suffering and redemption here will continue to be staged.
So just like the big sword that the teacher gave to her, she also wanted to do something for her peer who could be regarded as a disciple of the same school to some extent.
Some kind of strength that could respond to him when needed in the future, some kind of spiritual support, some kind of memory of this journey.
Naturally, Henry did not and would not block such a proposal.
After all these delays, by the time the matter was completed and the reinforcements from afar were received, and they could leave Fuso, it was already the end of April and the end of May.
It was at this time that a piece of good news that shocked the entire Moon Country came from afar.
The northern vassal army, which had been advancing southward with overwhelming force, had their offensive stalled for several months.
Announced dissolution.
It was neither a truce nor a sue for peace, but a direct announcement that the feudal army would be disbanded on the spot.
The cause of all this is said to be the civil war, or it is said that the mob's movement from below to conquer the upper class has led to excessive losses of the domain army. All in all, the territory of the directly governed state is extremely festive from top to bottom.
Even the Himekokoji family announced a holiday for everyone in Fuso and held a war festival to celebrate.
But the group of people did not belong to these celebrating crowds, because the sage had speculated that the war between the feudal army and Xinjing might evolve into this outcome more than a month before they stopped in Fuso.
——All of this is not a surprise caused by a single reason, but an inevitable result of the complex situation.
There are 11 royal families who do not belong to the royal family and have no right to inherit the throne and have been demoted as kings. Except for a small number of these kings who are princes living in directly-governed states, most of them have been assigned to the north as vassal kings.
Because the Great Moon Kingdom respects the moon, and the royal family claims to be the descendants of the Great Moon God, those who are demoted to the royal family are often named after "Moon".
The Mutsuki family corresponds to the month of Rigar; the Kisaragi family corresponds to the second month of Rigar; the Yayoi family corresponds to the third month of Rigar; the Uzuki family corresponds to the April of Rigar - and so on.
Although only 11 families were demoted to the royal family, folk and official records generally refer to him as "Prince of the Twelve Moon Clan" for the sake of convenience.
In fact, the relationship between the northern vassals is not good. Just like the small kingdom of Rigar, they often have territorial and interest disputes. The ability to unite and unite to attack Xinjing is not only due to external support, but also related to the internal changes in the Xinjing royal family speculated by the public and Laman.
Take advantage of the weak moment to work hard, and then continue to distribute benefits after the fight is over.
This kind of alliance gathered because of temporary common interests is quite loose. Once the offensive is blocked for some reason, it will fall into consumption and it will be impossible to obtain enough benefits.
There will be discord within them.
"Because the vassals are essentially a kind of warlords." The sage raised a finger and used a word that was relatively familiar to Rigar people but slightly confusing to the doctor who was born in New Moon Continent.
"They rely on their own troops to gain their status, power, and wealth through force, intimidation, and robbery."
"The number of troops under his control means how much say he has. The person with the most force can always take away the fattest and largest piece of meat when dividing the spoils."
"So when the battle situation reaches a stalemate for some reason, the first thought of those who have suffered greater losses will be -"
"Keep your own soldiers, lest they be annexed later or be unable to distribute more benefits." This time it was Galeva who interrupted, and it was rare for Leng Touqing to remain stunned.
"They unite together, in their heyday, and with various external assistance, they can have the power to fight against Xinjing."
"But what happens after the war?" Henry shrugged: "People will always die in wars, and which vassal king's soldiers died?"
"It is absolutely impossible to achieve absolute fairness if you die 100 times and I die 100 times. The most powerful party will definitely find a way to make others die. In the early stage, after conquering the entire Moon Kingdom, everyone will be able to get as much as they want. They may still be hot-headed when they are planting a large pie, but once they encounter a stalemate and fall into a war of attrition, they will quickly sober up."
"Not to mention getting more, if we continue to fight, we will lose everything we have now." He said in a calm tone: "After all, this is not a righteous cause, no matter how they claim it. These People go to war for their own interests, and once things go bad, they will prioritize preserving their own strength.”
"It's just this method." The sage shrugged again.
"If you don't seek peace or admit defeat, the feudal army will be disbanded on the spot."
"It was the joint organization of the vassal army that went to war with Xinjing, not any individual vassal king among them. This also means that after they disbanded in place, theoretically they no longer have to bear any responsibility for Xinjing. Agreements, compensation and even trials required by the parties.”
"It can be said that he is very amiable." His words were slightly sarcastic and offensive, but Ling didn't care, but carefully chewed on the sage's analysis.
She is a nobler person after all.
"That is to say, maybe we can mention that again." Aya is only concerned about this point. She knows that the power used by the domain this time poses a threat to the future of Crescent Continent. At this moment, the threat from the domain army has probably already If it no longer exists, Xinjing can free up manpower to deal with issues related to the inner boundary.
"You can try, but I'm afraid the lords are no longer Xinjing's biggest worry." Henry was noncommittal. He looked at the other people staying in the mountain hut specially rented from the hotel proprietress—— After all, the appearance of the three guests who came from afar was too distinct, and I'm afraid there would be big problems if they stayed in Fuso City.
Even if we don’t mention the tough-skinned warrior who is more than three meters tall and can only sit down in a special hut that can accommodate the ghost tribe, Erica’s bright silver hair that is indistinguishable from the legend also makes doctors who are familiar with the myths of the Moon Country. The lady looked sideways frequently and always hesitated to speak.
"If that doesn't work, we might be able to be polite first and then fight." The sage said, and the silver-haired lady nodded, seeming to agree with his suggestion.
"There are still too few people coming," she said.
"Druids don't like to go back to places where they have failed. Unlike the short-lived species, we are more tolerant of failure." The short magician spoke with ridicule every time he spoke these days. Mira wanted to He retorted, "Why don't you want to come back if you can see it now?" But he finally held back.
"No matter how elite we are, it is difficult to cover all the territory. Being able to rely on Xinjing's own military strength is the best way to solve this problem."
The red badges hanging on the waists of the three of them silently reminded the existence of the mercenary guild in the distant world of Rigar that the Luoan girl had almost forgotten.
It’s not that she hasn’t thought about what kind of support would enable a non-governmental organization to achieve a huge transnational scale, with offices in cities and towns in almost every country and cooperative relationships with local nobles.
It’s just that this answer exceeded Mira’s expectation after all.
Other races in the hidden world, organizations that intend to guide the world in the right direction, druids.
If you really completely seclude yourself from the world and completely avoid contact with humans, how can you be aware of many things and accurately grasp information?
There is nothing more suitable as a medium for intelligence gathering than mercenaries and adventurers who can travel around various countries and accept various tasks, large and small.
The Mercenary Guild is not an organization founded by humans, although its members are almost all humans.
And those who stand at the top of the mercenary level are the legends of the past who once led the world as demigods, but now have moved away to reduce their influence.
Their red card is a special identity used to facilitate walking in the world. It is attached with magic that induces and disrupts cognition with the same effect as the permanent runes on the sage.
The more distinctive the red token, the less likely people were to remember the specific details of the token’s owner.
In the end, the world only knew them as the Red Thirteen. Any appearance and related events can only be remembered at the moment when they were witnessed with their own eyes.
Once separated, everything will be forgotten in a short period of time, leaving only hazy and beautiful memories.
The hut fell into a brief stagnation, and the heat wave that heralded the arrival of summer radiated through the gaps in the paper windows where the support rods were lowered.
The cicadas chirped.
One after another, like intermittent rain.
"Even early cicadas should only start chirping in June. What happened to this land?" Ling muttered softly.
"Abandoned by the gods." Erica shrugged and did not look at her.
