After Winters entered the city, Andre immediately took him to see the warehouse.
"Gévaudin is so fat!" Andre beamed, and he and Winters rode straight to the military camp: "Now we have everything!"
There are still many dried blood stains on the military camp grounds, but the bodies have been cleaned up.
The grain depot is in the corner of the military camp, with a courtyard enclosed by the corner.
Andre kicked open the door of the grain depot, and wide-spaced wooden houses and grain fences appeared in front of Winters.
Winters hadn't seen so much food in a long time. Although he was somewhat mentally prepared, he was still quite shocked.
Andre introduced with a cheerful face: "I checked, the grains and wheat are divided in half, they are both from this year. Not bad, right?"
"It's good. I'm happy, but also a little unhappy." Winters looked at the grain store with complicated eyes: "With these grains, we don't have to be hungry or full. But we also have to know that these are all from It was snatched from the hands of the common people."
"Why do you think so much? If it falls into our hands, it's ours!" Andre laughed loudly, put his arm around Winters' shoulders, and said confidently: "And the vault! The weapons arsenal! It all belongs to us! It's still ours! The city is great!”
After seeing the grain depot, Andre happily took Winters with him to check the vault and weapons depot.
Wealth will be concentrated in the cities, and the capture of Jevaudan alone cannot be compared to the robbery of a thousand grain trucks.
"Where's Bud?" Winters asked.
"My boss is in the archives. I don't know what he is doing. It's just a piece of waste paper. What's there to care about?" Andre disagreed. He pulled Winters: "Let's go! Let's go see the weapons warehouse!" "
Say Bud, and Bud will come.
He walked into the grain depot with a scroll and saw both of them there. He smiled and asked, "How is it? How is the grain depot?"
"Okay! Great!" Andre laughed.
"I bring you something better." Bard handed the scroll to Winters: "It's better than ten or a hundred grain depots. If you ask me, add one piece to the other captures in Gevaudan. It’s not as valuable as something like this.”
"What?" Winters took the scroll.
"Since the establishment of Tiefeng County, all records of land transfer, tax payment and population migration in the past 30 years." A smile appeared in Bud's eyes: "That's all."
Winters unfolded the scroll. He was holding a list of all the files and files in Gévaudan's garrison. The list seemed to be endless.
"Land deeds require three-phase verification. The files of each town are stored in the town office. Many of them have been destroyed. The land purchaser has a copy of the land deed, but it is not useful and cannot be trusted! Only Gévaudin's files are the most reliable. record." Bud's voice was trembling.
The land deeds of Wolf Town have been reduced to ashes along with the old town hall, and many of the land deeds of other towns have also been lost.
The deeds in the hands of land buyers are difficult to count and can be forged, but the deeds of Gévaudin will never be wrong.
Hearing Bud's words, even Andre was thoughtful.
"With them, we can know where there are owners and where there are no owners; we can count the acres and allocate farmland; we can re-plan the world according to our wishes!" Bud's eyes turned red and he asked Winters: "Don't you want to smash this fucking world? This is your first cornerstone."
"No, you are wrong." Wintel grabbed the arms of Bud and Andre: "They are ours."
…
At noon, Captain Montagne entered the city.
In the afternoon, Gévaudan's [municipal councilor] was "invited" to a meeting at the city hall by vicious soldiers.
There are twenty-one municipal committee members in the Gévaudan district, twelve elected from within the city and nine elected from outside the city.
The complete Gevaudan includes both the urban area and the villages surrounding it.
Some farmers whose land is relatively close to the city will even go out to farm during the day and return to the city to rest at night.
Although these farmers are not "citizens" in the general sense, they also have citizenship rights in Gevaudan.
In addition, because Gevaudan now has a city wall, although it is very low, it can also be called a "city" instead of just a "city".
The municipal committee members came to the government hall tremblingly, prepared to be brutally killed.
But what they saw was a kind-hearted young officer: broad shoulders, big hands, wide mouth, high nose, eyes always smiling, looking very honest.
The young officer, named "Bud," almost immediately won the trust and favor of the city commissioners.
Lieutenant Bader patiently explained policies to the municipal commissioners.
To put it simply, it’s just one word: motionless.
No taxes or apportionments will be imposed, and city councilors and citizens will not be required to swear an oath of allegiance.
Whatever the Jevaudan garrison was responsible for in the past, the new garrison will be responsible for.
The new garrison will charge whatever the old garrison charges, but some unreasonable items will be removed as appropriate.
Yes, even the house number and office address have not been changed. The official name of the "Blood Wolf Gang" is now the "(New) Residential Office".
If they could stay in Jevaudan, I think [new] in front of [garrison] would soon be omitted.
The municipal committee members breathed a sigh of relief. Their families were well off and their lives were stable. What they feared most was the word "chaos".
If Lieutenant Bader said it according to what he said, then their lives would be almost unaffected, it would just be a change of people in the garrison.
Because Jevaudan has always been in a state of autonomy, the Zhuntun station only has three things: collecting taxes, selling land, and killing blind bandits.
Moreover, Jevaudan is very small, with just over 500 households and a population of less than 3,000. There are no government affairs.
The municipal committee members only meet once a week, and they mainly discuss minor issues such as "It's time to clean the sewers. Let's all chip in."
Seeing that Lieutenant Bader was easy to talk, the blacksmith and municipal councilor [Shaoy], who was always known for his boldness, asked: "Sir Lieutenant, Mr. Ronald before... no, the Ronald gang! They..."
"It doesn't have to be like this!" Bud interrupted with a smile: "We are the same family as Major Ronald. We just have a little difference. Just keep calling me Major Ronald. I'm not a lieutenant, so you can call me lieutenant." , Lieutenant Bader, all of them are fine.”
"Okay, okay." Although the other party was smiling, Shaoyi's knees still shook unconsciously.
He bit the bullet and continued: "Lieutenant Bader, Major Ronald previously forced the Jevaudan security team to join the army. Without the security team, all the bad guys came out, and no one took care of theft and robbery. Take a look. Can you..."
"Don't worry, we have already given some consideration. The garrison will take care of public security first. Members of the former guard will be screened first and released if there are no problems. From now on, the city hall will still be responsible for the security of Jevaudan."
The ruling committee members were shocked. Many of them had just been worried about blacksmith Shao Yi.
There are only twenty members of the Jevaudan Guards, and all the children are in the city, so there is nothing wrong with letting them go - this is the result of the discussion of the six-member group.
"Just say it straight." Bud smiled and said to blacksmith Shaoyi: "Although Major Ronald forced the city guard to join the army, he also arrested the security, and he did a good job. When we came, it turned out that No more."
Everyone's relieved hearts suddenly rose to their throats again.
"No, no..." Shao Yi's head shook like a windmill.
Bud smiled and looked at the municipal committee members: "This is a fact, what can't be said? The new garrison has nothing to do. I just want to be honest with everyone."
With a smile on his face, he said surprisingly: "I know what you want most is [the city treasury]."
All the city councilors stopped breathing.
…
The warehouse in the garrison and the warehouse in Gevaudan are two different things, just as the garrison and the city hall are two different teams.
But the irascible Lieutenant Don Juan didn't care about that. When he saw a warehouse, he first looked for the key. If he didn't have the key, he would blow up the door and tear down the wall. He didn't spare any warehouse.
According to the original plan, all the Gevaudan warehouses should be emptied.
But Juan and Moritz decided to change their backup plan, so all the warehouses were sealed and strictly guarded.
…
Bud kindly reassured everyone: "I know that the committee members want to ask for the city treasury, but they don't dare to ask. You are afraid that we will kill without batting an eye, afraid that we will lose face and retaliate secretly, afraid that the matter will be made clear and there is no room for negotiation. I I can promise you that none of the above will happen. We are a garrison, not bandits."
The municipal committee members relaxed a little when they saw Lieutenant Bader's calm eyes and sincere tone, which did not seem to be hypocritical.
Ever since they saw Lieutenant Bader, their hearts were like waves, rising and falling.
It was Shao Yi who had the courage to say soft words: "We do want to ask the city treasury about things, but we have no intention of asking..."
"Let's be frank and honest. There's nothing we can't talk about. It's easy to talk about it." Bud's voice was mellow and low, which made everyone feel comfortable, but his words sounded the opposite: "I can tell everyone clearly here that the weapons arsenal, We will stay. The food depots, we will stay too. We need weapons and food."
The municipal councilors could not conceal their disappointment because Gévaudin had spent so much public money on arsenals and grain depots.
After ruthlessly bursting the bubble of hope, everyone easily accepted the reality.
After all, the other party is...how could he return the weapons and food?
"The situation of the arsenal and grain depot is special, I hope everyone will understand. But the Rewardan Treasury..." Bud changed the topic and said with a smile: "The garrison will be returned to everyone in full, and I guarantee that every piece of money will be worth a lot of money."
The municipal committee members took a long breath, and their tense cheeks and furrowed brows relaxed.
The treasury is still there, it’s good and good, and I’m always content.
Bader continued to add: "As for the rebuilt City Guards, the garrison will provide them with weapons and training for free to ensure that they can assume the responsibility of maintaining law and order."
After hearing what Bud said, the twenty-one municipal committee members all looked happy.
After all, I had only promised to return the people but not the weapons. I think the city hall would have to dig into their own pockets to purchase equipment for the guards.
But now that Lieutenant Bader has promised to provide weapons to the Guards, everyone does not need to pay extra, so just give it to the arsenal.
"Not only that." Before Bard finished speaking, he announced with a smile: "The garrison will also pay a discount for the storage of the Gévaudan arsenal and grain depot. Our Gévaudan quasi-garrison will never rob citizens for nothing. valuable property!"
Blacksmith Shao Yi stood up suddenly and clapped his hands hard.
Other municipal committee members quickly or slowly stood up and clapped along with Shao Yi.
The city hall burst into loud applause, as if hundreds of people were having a lively meeting.
…
The six-man group - Winters, Bud, Andre, Mason, Juan and Moritz - had carefully discussed: it was impossible to return the food and weapons, but the money could be returned.
Winters is not short of money. Not only is he not short of money, he also has two tons of gold buried in the wilderness.
Given the current situation in Tiefeng County, even if you have gold and silver, you cannot buy food and weapons.
So the six-member group decided to simply "redemption" the arsenal and grain depot from the city hall.
The price is open to debate, but as long as it's not too outrageous, the city hall will happily accept a small loss.
No one knows better than Winters and others: robbing money can anger a city more than killing people.
By gaining mutual trust through equal dealings, Gévaudan can be stable.
What the six-member group wants most is "stability", and no one wants to see Gévaudan catch fire.
They do not intend to take over Gévaudan completely. As long as they pay taxes according to the amount, it would be best for Gévaudan to continue to be autonomous.
Bud has obtained all the archives of the Jevaudan camp and is sorting them out.
The six-member group knew very well how much tax Gévaudin should pay and when it should be paid, and were not afraid of the municipal committee "bullying students".
…
Bud raised his hand to signal everyone to stop.
The city hall suddenly returned to silence.
"There is good news from the garrison, let me tell you all here!" Bud continued to announce: "The millstone tax in Tiefeng County will be canceled from now on! No need to pay anymore! Everyone can use and make millstones freely!"
Once again, the city councilors cheered and clapped.
But they were just cheering, not sincerely clapping like before.
Because they are all people with status, identity and property, they are not very sensitive to the "millstone tax".
Millstone tax is a tax levied on millstones.
It is impossible for people to eat wheat. People have to eat flour, so the wheat has to spend its time on the millstone.
Therefore, taxing millstones became a natural choice for rulers.
The Republic of Plato was relatively tolerant and only levied a tax on millstones - each millstone was paid quarterly.
The number of craftsmen allowed to make millstones was strictly limited, ensuring that each millstone was registered.
In the feudal era of Plato, civilians had to go to mills designated by local lords to grind flour.
Possession of a hand-cranked millstone is a serious crime: the first offender will be whipped five times, the second offender will be subject to hard labor, the third offender will have his arm chopped off, and the third offender will be hanged.
A pound of wheat is ground, and only eight taels or even seven taels of flour are left.
The reduced weight goes into the miller's pocket as "loss" and then flows to the lord's pocket.
The millstone tax is the most hated and most direct tax by the people who are still struggling for survival.
Bud, who announced the lifting of the millstone tax, smiled with satisfaction and sincerity.
Later, he announced another big event:
"This weekend!" Bud's smile became brighter: "The garrison will hold a [public trial] in the city square. I hope that all the municipal committee members will set an example and do their work, so that every citizen of Gévaudan can participate. "
The smiles on the faces of the city councilors froze.
…
At the end of the meeting, the municipal committee members said goodbye to each other and went home.
But not even half an hour had passed before the twelve city committee members met again at the house of the sugar merchant [Priskin].
Everyone sat around Old Priskin, and you and I told each other what happened today.
Old Priskin was sixty-four years old and still very strong-boned. He was formerly the most respected municipal councilor in Gevaudan.
However, he suffered a serious illness at the beginning of the year and resigned as a municipal committee member.
Everyone originally wanted to recommend his second son, Priskin Jr., to take over, but the old man firmly refused, so they had to give up.
After resigning as a city councilor, the elder Priskin's physical condition gradually improved.
Although he has resigned, he is still the backbone of the municipal committee and others come to him for discussion.
"The new little officer named Bud is so awesome! Really awesome!" Shao Yi, the blacksmith, swallowed hard and sighed: "It's like he is playing with us with a string. We are happy for a while and happy for a while. Afraid, completely led by him.”
After listening to the story carefully, Old Priskin frowned and asked, "That Lieutenant Bader, always calls himself [Garrison Station]?"
"Yes." Everyone nodded, and someone sneered: "The rebels entered the city and called themselves the government office. It's really funny."
"Confused!" Old Priskin slapped the table and scolded: "He is not an official, he is a bandit, and you are happy?"
The man who made the sarcastic remark was frightened.
Old Priskin's brows widened: "They don't want to be a government official, so we have to coax them to do so; now they want to be a government official, and we have to support them. Business is done and life is taken care of. Isn't that great? We With all their wealth and property in Gevaudan, do you still expect them to become bandits?"
"Then... what kind of public trial is that?" Shao Yi licked his lips and asked, "Are we going to attend? He didn't say who was going to be tried, he just said he wanted a public trial."
"Why don't you go? Not only do you want to go! You also want to take your relatives and friends with you!" Old Priskin said with hatred: "Since he calls himself an official, and we act upright and sit upright, why are we afraid that he will judge us? We want to praise him. Stand up, you know? Put them up high. The higher they stand, the safer Gévaudan will be."
The others heard the words and nodded silently.
After being quiet for a while, Old Priskin asked thoughtfully: "Did you see the leader known as the [Blood Wolf] this time?"
"No." Shao Yi shook his head: "I only saw him once from a distance when he entered the city. He was riding a tall horse and wearing an officer's uniform. He was also very young, but he looked quite majestic."
"He turned out to be the resident official of Langtun Town?"
"It is said to be."
"Blood wolf..." Old Priskin chewed on the word and asked everyone: "What a sinister name. Do any of you know where it came from?"
"Langtun Town." Someone said with a toothy smile.
"No." Old Priskin shook his head: "I don't think so. What's his name?"
"My surname is Montagne, I don't know what it is called," answered the other.
Old Priskin frowned: "Montagne...this is not a Platuan surname."
"Maybe he's from another province?" Shao Yi asked tentatively.
"Go and inquire, but be careful." Old Priskin warned: "Don't show any ill will. We are just curious about the origin of the nickname Blood Wolf. Do you understand what I mean?"
All the city councilors nodded.
Old Priskin thought for a while and asked again: "You didn't see him when you went to the city hall, so where is he now? Does anyone know?"
"I know." Shao Yi rushed to answer: "I heard from my brother-in-law that the captain named Xue Lang only stayed in the city for a short time. Before noon, he left the city again."
"Leaving the city?" Old Priskin's eyes widened: "Which way did you leave the city?"
"North Gate!"
…
Little did Winters know he was being studied.
Less than an hour after entering the city, he, Andre and Senior Mason led a group of cavalry out of the city again.
The cavalry rushed to the town of Hammerburg with secret weapons to meet Juan Moritz.
Juan and Moritz are laying siege to Hammerburg.
Hammerburg and Hammerburg town cannot be equated. Hammerburg specifically refers to the wooden castle in the center of the town.
"Hammer Castle has surrendered" is actually Winters' nonsense, just like "The Protector of Sixteen Towns".
He is currently only the protector of the Seven Towns, and [Forge Township] has not reached an agreement with him.
Because the Forge Country is right next to Gevaudan, Winters' arms can't reach that far.
Captain Epel overcame difficulties and obstacles and finally took the lead in occupying Fort Hammer - because Don Juan had no idea that there was such an inconspicuous small fortress north of Gevaudan.
In order to hide his whereabouts, he crossed the St. George River on the road from Wangqiao Town.
Although the Hammer Castle is small, it is also made of wood and is in disrepair.
But it is indeed a fortress, and the gain of a strong attack outweighs the losses.
So at this moment, the man holding a large door panel approaching the Hammer Castle was none other than Winters "Blood Wolf" Montagne, whom Old Priskin was talking about.
"Senior Epel!" Winters shouted: "Come out and surrender!"
There was no sound from the fort.
"The bandit leader Ronald has surrendered! You are the only one left!" Winters reached out from behind the door panel and waved two flags: "These are his military flags, look!"
With a "ding" sound, an arrow was inserted into the door panel.
Captain Epel stuck his head out and shouted angrily: "I would rather die than surrender!"
"Don't worry! I won't kill you! Surrender and avoid death!" Winters also responded with his head.
"I'll fuck you, sir!" Captain Epel shot another arrow.
"You won't surrender." Winters continued to try to convince others with reason: "Then I will bombard you! When the cannon goes off, you will all turn into powder! Think again!"
"Fart!" Captain Epel yelled: "Gevaudan doesn't even have a cannon! Where did you get the cannon?"
"Okay, just wait!"
After saying that, Winters held up the door panel and left simply.
His attitude made Epel a little uneasy.
Even more uneasy were Epel's men, who peered nervously out from the cracks in the wooden wall.
"Senior." Winters returned to Mason: "Senior Epel wants you to blast him."
"What the hell are you talking to him about?" Don Juan was always extremely irritable on the battlefield: "Why don't we just bomb him and end it?"
"If you can convince, you still have to convince." Moritz sighed.
Senior Mason was very cautious: "My cannon can only shoot shotguns, and its damage effect on wooden walls is not very good."
"You..." Don Juan suddenly realized that Mason was a senior, and he spent a lot of effort to hold back the curse words: "You, you don't need to load the cannons at all. Fire two empty cannons, and the new recruits inside will be scared. Pee your pants. The key is to have a loud voice and a big caliber!"
"That's it." Winters also laughed: "My words are not addressed to Senior Epel, but to the soldiers in Hammer Castle."
"Then give it a try." Mason said with a smile: "It took a lot of effort to bring it here, but it can't be justified without firing a few shots."
He called to Andre: "Come on! Bring the cannon over here!"
Hearing this, Andre lifted the veil.
He and other cavalrymen mobilized their horses and slowly approached the Hammer Castle, dragging four black cannons.
From a distance, the caliber of these four artillery pieces was extremely terrifying, and their size was also astonishingly large.
But looking up close reveals the truth, because they are made of wood.
This is the secret weapon that Winters, Mason and Andre brought with them from Gevaudan.
Because it was made of wood, it could keep up with the marching speed of the cavalry. It was loaded onto a carriage and transported over a bumpy journey.
In order to deceive the enemy, Winters also had four wooden cannons painted black.
Coupled with the temporarily assembled artillery carriage and the moving method of "two draft horses desperately dragging the cannon", it looks really decent.
When Epel saw the cannon approaching, he couldn't help but stand still. He didn't expect that Winters actually had a cannon.
But the more he looked at it, the more he felt that the opponent's cannon looked weird.
"Fuck!" he yelled, "Don't be afraid! That's fucking wood!"
But the roar of artillery drowned out his curses.
The four wooden cannons roared one after another, and only one contained cannonballs - weighing weights, broken iron and other broken iron tools.
The wooden barrel reinforced with iron hoops was shaken into cracks, but it still withstood the internal pressure.
The gunpowder gas pushed the contents of the gun barrel out and flew towards the Hammer Castle.
The "cannonballs" hit the outer wall of the Hammer Castle and made wood chips fly everywhere.
A thunderous voice sounded from behind the smoke: "If you don't surrender, you will all be shattered to pieces!"
The new recruits in the Hammer Castle panicked and pried open the wooden boards nailed to the door, and ran out crawling on the ground: "Surrender! Show mercy! Sir!"
In despair, Epel drew his sword and wanted to kill himself.
But the blade of the sword stopped at his neck, and he couldn't remove it. The more you hesitate, the harder it is to make a move.
He threw away his sword, sat in the corner, and cried in grievance.
