In the west of Cecil City, there were many trees and lush plants. The vast jungle here provided the new Cecil Hill with an endless supply of building materials and industrial raw materials, and even food. In the north of the forest, next to the Whitewater River, Frost Village gradually became lively as the sun rose.
This was a new village, but it was orderly and full of vitality. Neatly arranged wooden houses were shrouded in smoke, and the cement and brick "new houses" were dotted between these wooden houses. Wide cement roads connected several main buildings in the village. Due to frequent cleaning and a strict sanitation system, the roads were clean and tidy. There were no traces of feces on the roads in other areas of this era.
These characteristics were the embodiment of the "Cecil Order".
Lumberjack Buddy went out into the morning sun. He carried the heat accumulated from a hot meal at home, which helped him resist the cold wind of early spring in the forest. This man, who had been lumbering trees all his life, walked to the street, rubbed his nose that was slightly itchy in the cold wind, and then walked to the reporting office.
As he crossed the street, he glanced at the houses on both sides of the street. The appearance of this place last year vaguely emerged in his mind.
He still remembered that when Cecil's 800 refugees first came to this land, it was just a shabby lumberjack camp. Dozens of lumberjacks and a small group of soldiers came here with axes and swords, set up tents, and set up fences. At first, the camp was not as big as the square in the center of the village today. But now, in less than a year, it had become a village, a beautiful and big village. The tents became lumberjack huts, and the lumberjack huts were expanded and multiplied into streets. Supplies from the city were continuously sent here, just like the lumberjacks were continuously sent to the city. Cement appeared, shops appeared, and the village from the lumberjack camp even got a name — the lord himself named it Frost Village.
If Buddy had not experienced all this himself, he would not have believed that all this had happened under his nose.
More lumberjacks appeared on the street. Buddy greeted these friends, and they walked forward together, talking and laughing. On the way, someone suddenly exclaimed, "This place has changed a lot."
"That's right. After all, we haven't been idle during the winter." A lumberjack with a big beard laughed. "We even built a clock tower."
"I don't know what's changed in the city recently," Buddy muttered. "It's changed faster than here."
"The last time I came to the city, I saw new houses being built on the west side of the city. They said that another 2,000 people in the buffer camp were granted citizenship," said the lumberjack who spoke first. "But I haven't been to the city recently..."
Between Frost Forest Village and Cecil City, there was a convenient road and river transportation. However, in reality, the lumberjacks here did not often enter the city. Ever since this place became a permanent settlement and various village facilities were established, Frost Forest Village gradually gained the ability to maintain itself. The lumberjacks who came here in the beginning also became villagers who settled down here. Due to the large amount of work and the fact that there was nothing to do in the city, the villagers of Frost Forest Village would only enter the city once or twice a month. Their understanding of the changes in Cecil City was often based on the descriptions of those who occasionally entered the city, or on the descriptions of the convoy guards who transported goods between the village and the city.
As they chatted, the topic gradually turned to guessing the changes in the city. They wondered if the lord had come up with something new. However, they did not chat for long before they arrived at the reporting office.
Buddy rubbed his nose and looked at the shack of the reporting office. According to the working procedure, after he reported here, he had to get the tools and follow the foreman to the designated area in the forest to start work. However, something seemed to have happened at the reporting office today. He saw many people gathered in the small open space in front of the reporting office. Even his foreman was standing there.
Buddy and a few lumberjacks curiously went over and found that the convoy carrying supplies had arrived. Although Frost Village had become a village, it was still a new village. A lot of cloth, drinks, and the like still had to be transported from the city. Basically, there would be at least one such convoy coming from the city every week.
It was indeed a good thing that the convoy had entered the village, but it was a little strange that everyone was gathered here. In order to unload the goods and hand over the personal items ordered by the villagers, the convoy had to stay here all day. Everyone gathered here early in the morning. Did the convoy bring something new?
While Buddy was puzzled, he saw his foreman squeeze out of the crowd with a smile on his face. The foreman was holding a few large pieces of paper printed with words and pictures that exuded the smell of ink.
"Boss," Buddy hurried over and asked, "what good stuff did the convoy bring?"
"Oh, Buddy." The foreman was obviously in a good mood and seemed to be in the mood to show off. He waved the papers in his hand and said loudly, "Look, newspapers! New things from the city! "
"Newspapers?" Buddy was stunned. The convoy had indeed brought something new. Just like before, as long as it was something new from the city, it would definitely be something that no one had ever heard of. "You mean these papers? What... what are they for? "
"It's a 'book' that civilians can also buy." The foreman glanced at Buddy, his eyes and tone full of pride. Although he had bought the newspaper a little earlier than the others, he was very proud. "There's a lot of things written on it, including the recent changes in the city."
"Where is it?" Hearing this, Buddy immediately leaned forward. "Where is it written? What does it say?"
"Here, the 'Cypress Street' community in the West District has been built. The new immigrants who have obtained citizenship are moving. And here, it says that the price of wheat and fur will be lowered recently because the trade route with Gelan Region has been opened. And here, my goodness, is the Church of Holy Light in the Holy Spirit Plain crazy? They have started to burn other people's churches?"
The foreman pointed at the sections of the newspaper. As he spoke, a look of surprise appeared on his face. Then, he began to read the news seriously. Buddy stared at him with his eyes wide open, but he suddenly felt dejected.
He could not read it.
He could recognize words, but only a small part of them. At most, he could spell his name, age, and address, as well as understand the forms on his work card. This was the result of attending a night school for a few days. There had been a night school in the village last year, and a teacher from the city would come to teach five days a week. Buddy had been there a few times, but he didn't pay attention at all!
Looking at the newspaper full of words, he could not help but feel annoyed.
The foreman was reading the contents of the newspaper carefully and did not care about Buddy's annoyance at all. He even laughed when he read half of the newspaper. There seemed to be some funny jokes or stories in the newspaper, but to Buddy, none of these were fated.
Even though the newspaper was said to only cost a few copper coins.
He knew that he could not ask the foreman to read the newspaper for him. Even though the foreman usually had a good relationship with everyone, such a request was unrealistic.
A few familiar workmates squeezed out of the crowd. Buddy looked up and saw that one of them was also holding a newspaper in his hand. As he walked, he opened the newspaper in his hand and handed it to the others.
They might have bought the same newspaper together. Although a newspaper was cheap enough to only cost a few copper coins, for many lumberjacks who just had some spare money, it was probably not worth it to spend money to buy a few pieces of paper to read. However, they were curious about the content of the newspaper, so it was very likely that they pooled their money and bought it together. Anyway, a newspaper contained several pieces, so these people could take turns to read it after breaking it up.
Buddy looked at those people with slight envy and muttered in his heart, "They were all poor people who used to work as coolies and had to deal with axes and saws. Now, they are walking with their backs straight like scholars. They are even rolling up newspapers and holding them under their arms as if they were holding a book. Really..."
How respectable...
Buddy touched his pocket and suddenly gritted his teeth. He turned his head and walked in the direction of the convoy.
At this time, the foreman had just finished reading something. When he looked up and saw Buddy's action, he could not help but shout curiously from behind, "What are you doing? It's almost time for the roll call! "
"I want to buy a newspaper!"
"Can you read it?"
Buddy did not turn his head. "I'll buy it and study it slowly. At worst, I'll wait for Mr. Bernard to come and ask him for advice!"
"Mr. Bernard" was the teacher who was sent to Frost Forest Village to teach. He was a second-level clerk who worked in the government office.
Looking at Buddy who seemed to be walking in a fit of pique, the foreman shrugged and looked down at the newspaper in his hand again.
He muttered to himself, "When I go back, I have to put it away properly and save a few more copies to glue together... At least I have a book at home."
...
Holy Spirit Plains, in front of Rock Fortress. Aveken raised his head and looked up at the ancient fortress that stood in the southernmost part of the Holy Spirit Plains.
The black walls of the fortress glowed slightly under the sunlight. That was the glow of the copper cast in the cracks of the walls. The builders of Monolith Fortress melted the copper and mixed it with adamantine and purple copper. This magic alloy would absorb the magic of the sun when it shone on the walls and slowly release it throughout the day and night, making the walls incomparably sturdy. This magnificent and sturdy fortress was the product of the civil war of the Misty Moon a hundred years ago.
It stood between the mountains at the junction of the Southern Territory and the Holy Spirit Plains. It controlled the only way from the Southern Territory to the Holy Spirit Plains. Even the Dorgon River, which connected the North and the South, had to pass through the side pass of the fortress. It was a huge irony, symbolizing the kingdom's complete blockade of the entire Southern Territory. For a whole century after the completion of this fortress, the Southern Territory had become a land of deliberate exile. The Second Dynasty was afraid that the ancient and huge Cecil family would come back and shake the royal family, so they built this fortress while constantly dividing and weakening the Southern Territory. It seemed that they wanted to make Rock Fortress the new "Southern Territory" of the kingdom and threw the survivors of the Cecil family to the wasteland in the south.
This extremely strong fortress was used to guard against the founding family of the kingdom.
However, in the past century, the Cecil family had never crossed this barrier. They silently suffered the failure of the civil war in the Misty Moon and silently accepted the separation and suppression of the royal family. It was not until last year, after the resurrection of the ancestor of Cecil, that the members of the family crossed Rock Fortress for the first time and went to the Holy Spirit Plains.
Wright looked up at the high black walls of Firmrock Fortress. The history of this fortress and the short period of time he had experienced in the incredible land in the south emerged in his mind. Then he withdrew his gaze, tidied up his old priest robe, and stepped towards the checkpoint.
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