Most of the parangons in Aesop's hands were ore cores instead of mined parangons. There weren't that many people who would specifically extract the parangons from the ore cores. The original tribe of cavemen had also learned the mining skills of Duc, but their mastery and proficiency were far inferior to the miners of Duc. Not only were they inefficient, but they also destroyed a lot of parangons during mining. Aesop simply ordered most of the ore cores to be sealed up and piled up like a small hill, waiting for the Duc miners to arrive. In the eyes of many, the miners of Duc were quite amazing. They could extract parangons from the ore cores with a single blow, even faster than mages.
Aesop discussed with Joshua that the miners of Duc should focus on extracting parangons, even ignoring the smelting of iron that they were good at. The city of Taleng would send people to build houses for them, as long as the miners made their own requests. Joshua agreed. The second day after they entered Taleng, he ordered the miners to start working and extract parangons as quickly as possible.
There was another thing that surprised Aesop. His guards were not the only ones accompanying the miners into the city. The miners also brought back more than sixty captives, all of whom were strong and powerful highlanders! The combat power of these miners was too strong. If it really came to a critical juncture, the twelve Judges could still lead the troops on the battlefield.
According to the customs of the continent, prisoners of war were reduced to slaves. Half of these slaves belonged to the lords who captured them, and the other half to the kingdoms and cities, just like the distribution of spoils of war. Warriors on the battlefield captured prisoners of war. Slaves were also personal wealth. Kingdoms and city-states had other uses for these slaves, such as exchanging them for their own captives or demanding ransom from the other party.
With so many prisoners of war, Aesop's mouth was crooked with joy. Joshua gave him an idea. Instead of dealing with prisoners of war in the traditional way on the continent, he told them that slaves could buy their freedom. As long as they worked for the city of Taleng or the lords, they could be paid a portion of the reward. If the reward accumulated to the required ransom, they could be freed.
Aesop was taken aback at first, but when he regained his composure, he laughed out loud and patted Joshua's shoulder, "Before you guys came, someone had already recommended you to be the secretary of Tuleng. You're truly a talent! The people of Duc have always been miners. I think they should be merchants. This business is too smart! Not only will it weaken the resistance of the captives, they won't dare to cause trouble or slack off, but it will also make them work harder. On the surface, they will suffer losses, but in reality, they will make a huge profit! "
Joshua nodded and said, "Yes, anyone who dares to cause trouble will have their remuneration deducted. If the prisoners of war are exchanged, they will also be arranged to be the last. If war breaks out and we capture prisoners of war, we can do this. " "Speaking of exchanging prisoners of war, the cost of training these giant warriors is very high. I think one giant warrior should be exchanged for at least three prisoners of war on our side."
Aesop smiled and said: "Okay, from now on, you are the scribe of Salem. There are many specific matters, so you will be in charge of laying out the rules for me."
At the same time that the miners from Duc arrived in Talor, there were two major events that took place in the city. Aesop was extremely busy, and he desperately needed a capable helper. It was the perfect time to appoint Joshua as his scribe. The first major event was the official opening of the trade route in the Charcoal Marsh. The thorns were cut to fill the marsh, gravel was laid as the foundation, and the burnt dry soil was paved. It was wide enough to accommodate two ordinary carriages, and there were also three relay stations in the marsh for caravans to rest.
The original plan for this trade route was to take three months to open, but the actual construction period was increased by half a month. It took Amon a month to explore a road that was two people wide in the marsh. Syah's laborers started work from the entrance after Amon entered the marsh, and a month and a half after Amon walked out of the marsh, the official trade route was immediately opened.
With the strong support of Goliath, Governor Schmul mobilized 1,500 laborers, all of whom were strong and strong men. What was more worth mentioning was that these people did not go back after the trade route was built, but directly entered the Plains of Duc and went to the city of Taleng. Taleng was short of people, and the sudden arrival of so many strong laborers was naturally a timely help, but Aesop did not know whether to laugh or cry.
The origins of these 1,500 or so laborers were very complicated. There were rogues and proletarians from Syah and the surrounding areas, bankrupt craftsmen, soldiers with military records, and even exiled prisoners, punished scoundrels, and local ruffians. Many of them had been conscripted into the army and received military training, but they were troublemakers and unsettled elements in their hometowns, and many of them were regarded as troublemakers by the villagers.
They had heard that the Plains of Duc was a place full of opportunities, and that homeless people with nothing could even become great lords. The governor of the city of Taleng was once a slave. Governor Schmul banished all these troublemakers to Taleng, and it could be considered as taking what they needed.
How to manage this group of people was also a headache for Aesop, and Joshua quickly formulated the latest laws of the city, incorporating most of these people into the army, and as long as they obeyed the management of the city and made meritorious deeds in the future, they would be given corresponding land. The city of Taleng now lacked everything but land.
The Plains of Duc was full of uncultivated fertile land, and from the two battle fortresses in the north to the fortress at the edge of the Charcoal Marsh in the southwest corner, the area around Taleng with a radius of about two hundred miles was under their control. A circle could be drawn on the sand table and a piece of land could be taken out, waiting for these explorers to claim it with their merits. Thanks to Pharaoh Lasith Ii for his "generosity".
Meng had drawn such a circle on the map of the Plains of Duc, and Pharaoh had kept it the same.
Reward. "
Give him his territory.
The second major event in Taleng was that the battle fortresses on both sides of the road to the north had finally been completed. The magic formations had been set up, and the walls and fortresses had long been built. There were two things missing in the first place: a large number of ordinary parangons to be placed in the various positions of the magic formations, and there were not that many soldiers stationed there. After the arrival of the miners from Duc, the missing parangons were mined in a very short time, and the magic formations could finally be operated at any time.
These two battle fortresses could each house nearly a thousand soldiers, and there were warehouses stocked with all kinds of supplies, which could be defended for a long time. Each fortress had a magic formation that could protect the fortress when activated, and could launch a counterattack under the control of the mages. This was designed by Amon and Link together, with reference to the magic formations of Montefiore and Bablon City. Although they were only small-scale fortresses, they were still shockingly expensive.
One thousand and five hundred peasants had officially joined Taleng, so the population of the city was now more than seven thousand. Excluding the old, the young, the women, the children, and the craftsmen who had to work, about three thousand soldiers could be organized in times of war. This was almost enough to make every citizen a soldier.
Aesop had sent a thousand soldiers to be stationed in the two battle fortresses, five hundred soldiers in each fortress. This was the largest regular army he could send out. The rest of the people in Taleng could not be completely free from work. Usually, they had to cultivate the wilderness, smelt iron, hunt all kinds of monsters, raise livestock, and process materials. Only when war broke out would they be able to pick up weapons and become soldiers of the city.
There were now a thousand regular soldiers stationed outside the city, and another two thousand reserve troops in the city. Usually, they would take time to assemble for drills. The size of the reserve troops was barely equivalent to the size of a legion. There was no shortage of leadership talents. The main generals of the Andra legion of the Empire of Eygut were all in Taleng.
The Head of the Andra legion was Amon, the chief priest was George, the front commander was John, and the captain of the guards was Medanzo. It was also a newly formed miscellaneous army that was trained into an elite division by Amon. Now, under the leadership of John and George, Taleng seemed to have gone through a reincarnation, repeating what had happened in the Andra legion. The thirty-six guards that John had brought to the Plains of Duc had become the generals of Taleng, and were usually responsible for taking turns to drill the formation.
On the day that the fortress was built, the Taleng legion was also established. Unlike the legions in other parts of the continent, there was no special position of chief priest in the Taleng legion. The Head of the legion directly led the priests to cooperate with the frontline soldiers in battle. Amon was already a god on the altar and was currently training in the Garden of Eden, so he naturally would not be the Head of the legion. Medanzo was also training in the Garden of Eden and could not go to the battlefield for the time being. The Head of the legion was the chief priest of the city, George, and the front commander was still John.
Although George and John had the experience of forming and training the Andra legion, they knew in their hearts that the current Taleng legion could not be compared to the Andra legion of the past. Although the Andra legion was a newly formed miscellaneous army at the time, it was still a regular legion of the Empire of Eygut, with five thousand official legionnaires, all of whom were at least first-level warriors.
The Taleng legion, on the other hand, only had a thousand regular soldiers and two thousand reserves, of which nearly a thousand were not warriors. On the other hand, the total number of the Andra legion, including the logisticians, reached twenty thousand during the war, and there were not that many non-combat logisticians to support the evacuation of Taleng, so they had to rely on the trade route to replenish their supplies.
George and John had never even commanded such a weak legion in battle, and they were facing the elite Giant Legion of the Assyrian Kingdom. Unlike the high-ranking generals, the people of Taleng were full of confidence in victory, largely because of the prestige of Amun. Their Amun was a supreme general who had shaken the world and was almost invincible.
Fortunately, the trade route was opened at the right time, and personnel and supplies were replenished in a timely manner. Sio really gave them face. He organized a large caravan, followed behind the civilian laborers who opened the road, and entered Taleng as soon as the road was opened. Aesop personally went to the pass at the edge of the Charcoal Marsh to welcome the former master and his caravan into Taleng, and hosted a banquet in the governor's residence.
Sihathor was filled with emotion as he looked at the magnificent city of Talen. His former slave was now the lord of the city. It was a place full of miracles. No wonder so many wandering explorers came to the Plains of Duc in search of dreams and opportunities! He drank a little too much at the banquet, and finally put his arm around Aesop's shoulder and said, "Aesop, you are now the governor of Taleng! Think about me, I've worked so hard for so many years, even risking my life for the title of nobility. " Aesop comforted him: "Master Sio, you should also look at others, among the merchants who did business with you back then, who is richer than you now? You already have the title of deputy director of the city's property department, and your business is doing much better than before. There are very few merchants like you on the continent, so don't worry too much. " Governor Aesop actually called him Master Sio again, and the wealthy merchant was so excited that he drank several glasses of wine in a row. "I only said a few words when I saw you, and my heart is usually very calm. Otherwise, how could I have grown so fat? Is it easy to do business to my extent? Have you ever seen a master personally cross the desert to collect debts? It was in the desert that we met Amon, no, Amun! " Aesop laughed. "Yes, you are indeed doing better than others, and you put in more effort than others, so your business is also bigger! I was really surprised to see you this time, I didn't expect you to come in person
With a caravan. "
Sihathor patted the fat on his chest and said, "Isn't that my style? I always look for business opportunities in person, not to mention that God Amon has summoned me. How can I only send my men here?"
Aesop asked again, "Master Sihathor, you are indeed very capable. How did you manage to pass the checkpoint with so many armors, weapons, and horses?"
Sio replied with some pride, "Warhorses are easy." Because it was a long journey, each carriage was equipped with a few more horses, and the warhorses were mixed in. As for weapons and armors, don't forget that I am also a logistics officer of the An-Yira army, so I naturally have my ways. Lord Dick of Straits and the An-Yira army stationed at the border were also very generous. I paid enough taxes, and they let me through without careful inspection. As for Syah, he was even more cooperative, and even asked me if I needed to buy a batch of supplies nearby! "
Aesop stood up and raised his cup. "Master Sio, I toast you! You have solved the urgent problem of withdrawing from Leng. To tell you the truth, we are soon going to war with Marduc City in the north, and we are seriously short of logistical and military personnel. That trade route is very important, and we need your continued support. "
Sio also stood up and drank the wine in his cup in one gulp. "To become a god again, cheers! I also have a hope, to open a trading company in Leng, and when this war is won, it will also be a great victory for me. "
Aesop nodded immediately. "No problem, I will sign the document now, designate the best location in the city, and immediately send someone to build your shop and warehouse. You don't have to worry about anything, just do your business."
The war was imminent, and in the Garden of Eden, Amon was still training, and Peloponnus was still building the spatial magic formation. Except for Medanzo, Gabriel, and Moses, everyone else in the Garden of Eden had returned to Leng. Medanzo had temporarily lost his power, Moses could not enter the Plains of Duc, and Amon did not want Gabriel to participate in this war. The two fortresses north of Leng were each garrisoned with 500 soldiers, and the magic formation could be activated at any time, but to exert the full power of the formation, two supreme mages were needed to preside over it. Raphael just happened to arrive, and he volunteered to help guard one of the fortresses.
Raphael was not a warrior on the battlefield, but it was standard for him to preside over the magic formation in the fortress. El Mar also asked to go with him, staying in the same fortress as Raphael, saying that she could take turns presiding over the magic formation in the middle of a fierce battle, but in fact, she was worried about Raphael's safety. This Ironback King had now transformed into a beautiful girl, and she was also a supreme mage.
Aesop originally wanted to send El Mar to another fortress, but El Mar had to be with Raphael, and George and John had to stay in Leng to preside over the situation. There was no way to spare another supreme mage, so he had to look at Link for help.
When Link saw this scene, he took the initiative to say with a smile: "Governor Aesop, now that you and George are the commanders, just treat me as a subordinate and send me to guard the other fortress."
All the preparations for the war had been arranged, and Aesop sent a letter and something to Felix, the Governor of Enril. The letter told Felix that the people of Duc had arrived in Leng, and that he was invited to come to Leng as a guest to meet them in person. But Felix would never come, because the letter also said that the 100 giant soldiers including Goliath had been wiped out, and there were currently 62 captives. If Felix comes to Leng as a guest, please bring the ransom for the prisoners of war, 20 parangons per person! He also swore in the name of Enril that he would never invade the city of Leng, and that his giant soldiers could accept employment from Leng and continue to mine iron and parangons in the mines, and Leng would pay half of the reward.
The letter was accompanied by a large lacquered wooden box containing Goliath's huge head, which had been treated by magic and medicine and had not yet decayed, and the look of terror on his face at the moment of his death could still be seen. Aesop knew very well that as soon as this letter and wooden box were delivered to Felix, the war would start immediately.
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