Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 326 Stirrup Wine

Thervodan.

As the hussars lined up, Colonel Skoll strolled along the banks of the St. George River, giving the city, both familiar and unfamiliar, one last look.

The stone-paved road was shrouded in a pale blue smoke, and piles of pine branches and mugwort were burning in the middle of the street, filling the air with a strange fragrance—supposedly used to ward off plague.

Huge logs kept drifting down from upstream through the veil of smoke.

The logs were towed ashore by the boatmen, where men wielding axes had been waiting for some time. Branches were split into firewood, while the thick trunks were sent into the rumbling water-powered sawmill.

Rebuilding homes requires timber, and winter heating requires fuel.

The rebel government lifted logging restrictions, and the materials and energy that the forests had accumulated over the past century are being released again.

Skull's gaze lingered on the giant waterwheel outside the workshop—one sawmill was already in operation, while five more were under construction.

With a crisp sound of hooves, Colonel Gaisa rode up quickly to Skul's side on his black steed.

"What are you looking at?" Gaisa asked.

Skoll sniffed the pine scent in the air: "Actually, I'm not quite sure either."

Following Skul's gaze, Gaisa couldn't help but laugh: "Isn't it just a waterwheel?"

“It’s a waterwheel,” Skull replied. “But it’s more than just a waterwheel.”

Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
A rhythmic, muffled tremor echoed through the air.

Looking across the river from Gaisa, towering wooden towers appear and disappear in the thin mist.

“Well, it’s not just waterwheels.” Gaisa clicked his tongue. “There are also pile drivers.”

On the other side of the river, thousands of ordinary people are doing something that is very unusual in winter—building houses.

The freezing weather made construction difficult, so they built a large number of construction machines: tower pile drivers, animal-powered cranes, mobile cranes...

Those people used giant machines typically used for building churches, fortresses, palaces, and other large-scale projects, yet the houses they built were so rudimentary that they were laughable.

So what kind of house is it exactly?
Four wooden stakes nailed together form four walls, and a roof made of the same wooden planks is then added to complete the structure. It's more like a prison than a residence.

Meanwhile, at the construction site on the opposite bank.

"A little closer to me!" Mason's voice was hoarse as he waved his arms wildly, directing the crane operator: "Okay! That's enough! Lower it! Lower it! Slowly!"

The roof, which had been suspended in mid-air, slowly descended. Once the roof was in place, the carpenter, carrying a small hammer, removed the supports and secured the roof.

Unlike the normal process of building a house by "laying the beams first and then the roof", the houses that Mason was responsible for building all had their roofs pre-built on the ground and then hoisted onto the roofs by cranes.

The people of Tiefeng County, who were initially stunned, are now used to it.

If anyone thinks these houses look like prisons—they're absolutely right!

Because the design of these houses was completely copied from the prefab houses of the labor ranch where Mason had worked.

Even more remarkably, to further conserve building materials, these prefabricated houses in Rewodan adopted a "row house" structure. That is, the houses are placed right next to each other, with one wall serving two households, greatly saving on timber.

It's worth noting that even the prefab houses on the labor ranches could barely be considered "detached houses." The prefab houses in Zhevodan were even worse than those for prisoners.

Hailan's townhouses are stone buildings; the stone is sturdy and heavy, providing excellent sound insulation.

The terraced houses in Revodan are separated by only a thin wooden plank, offering no privacy except for the view.

But the people of Tiefeng County who are building these prefabricated houses are eager to move in. Everyone is putting in their utmost effort, racing against time to complete the construction.

Because apart from the women and children who were evacuated to the old town, the vast majority of the people of Tiefeng County who remained in Zhewodan still only had simple tents that could not keep them warm.

And the weather is getting colder every day.

Therefore, aesthetics and comfort are not currently being considered.

On construction sites, men, women, the elderly, and children—construction workers who are not actually construction workers—have clear divisions of labor and work in an orderly manner.

Anyone who participated in the preparations for the war in Theodora could immediately tell that these men, women, and children were using the organizational structure from the time of the city's construction.

Just as when defending a city, "whoever built a section of the city wall would go to defend that section of the city wall," the same principle applied to building houses: "whoever built a certain number of prefabricated houses would live in those prefabricated houses."

Looking at the bustling construction site, Mason, who was in charge of overseeing the housing project, suddenly felt a sense of unease: "This... is probably the most embarrassing work of my life."

"Your Excellency?" Ons, whose face was half-covered by a horrifying birthmark, noticed something amiss and asked, "Are you unhappy? Wasn't the project going very smoothly?"

“It’s easy to build,” Mason clicked his tongue. “But it’ll be hard to demolish it later.”

"Demolish? Why demolish?" Demon Ons's emotions remained as indifferent as ever: "But if you really want to demolish it, it's not difficult. This kind of wooden house can be burned to the ground with a single fire."

Mason shook his head with a wry smile, then suddenly realized something and his expression turned horrified: "Oh no! These houses... will they be called 'Mason Houses' from now on?"

……

"And now?" Gaisa asked Skul. "Do you still think a colonel's uniform can buy them off?"

Skull said calmly, “At least I’m pretty sure now that there’s absolutely no way Captain Montagne could have been bribed.”

……

"Negotiations?" Andrei asked Winters. "Can we really trust them?"

“Trust is one thing,” Winters sighed. “But I always felt that they could never truly accept us.”

……

"Wouldn't letting them run rampant be like raising tigers?" Gaisa frowned.

……

Andrei rested his chin on his hand and said nonchalantly, "In the end, we'll have to fight a war sooner or later."

……

“At present, the cost of using force will far exceed what we can accept.” Skul looked at the busy figures on the other side of the river, then at Geza: “Things will become even more complicated once he distributes the land.”

Winters was somewhat dejected: "If they want to negotiate, then let them negotiate. You know the situation in Iron Peak County right now."

……

“You know the current situation,” Skul said emphatically. “In any case, at least stabilize them for now. We must avoid any unforeseen complications that could disrupt our ‘more important’ strategy.”

……

“Anyway, if we can minimize the bleeding,” Winters made up his mind. “It would be best to minimize the bleeding.”

……

The hussars were ready to go, and Colonel Skull and Colonel Gaisa mounted their horses.

In addition to the originally scheduled send-off party, many soldiers from Iron Peak County and citizens of Thervadhan spontaneously came to see him off.

Winters calmly held his wine glass and slowly walked to the three officers' horses.

According to the Platonic tradition, when a hostess is present, the "stirrup wine" should be served by her.

However, Winters insisted on personally serving the three officers stirrup wine, so there was no kissing of the hostess that was so popular today.

Winters didn't want to use any fancy, empty words. He stood at the front of the cavalry and raised his hand in a salute with utmost solemnity.

In any case, Winters was genuinely grateful to these Paratau cavalrymen who came to Iron Peak with their sabers when the Herd tribes invaded.

Although it may sound mundane, sharing a common hatred for the enemy is always the fastest way to build camaraderie. Those who once fought side-by-side, shedding blood and sweat, will always feel a pang of reluctance when they must part ways.

Andrei was the most emotional, his eyes even a little red. It was only because there was no alcohol to drink in Tiefeng County that everyone remained relatively rational.

If we were strictly following the customs of the Parat people, the two of them would already be embracing each other, tears streaming down their faces, snot running down their noses, drunkenly saying strange things.

"Alright, alright." Colonel Gaisa shivered. "Don't say anything too mushy, I can't handle it."

"Actually, I still hope you can stay in Tiefeng County for a while longer."

“Don’t worry, what war doesn’t have plagues?” Gessa said with a hint of helplessness as he brought up the old story again: “When there are many people gathered together, people will naturally get sick. After a while, when the refugees disperse, that Aachen plague will naturally be gone.”

We've had several conversations about this. We couldn't convince Colonel Geza before, and those few words at the farewell wouldn't work either.

Winters composed himself and nodded in acknowledgment: "Thank you."

“You should go thank Colonel Bode.” Colonel Gaisa scratched the back of his bald head, speaking rapidly. “Besides, we’re not here to help you. The Hurds, they’ll kill anything… It’s all General Adams’s fault, his [interception strategy], it’s complete bullshit! If Iron Peak County falls, won’t the Hurds just go around back to the Wasteland? What’s the point of his interception at the border river in Vaughan County… We’ll have to clean up his mess…”

Colonel Wintersliugeza defended himself alone, picked up another glass of wine, and walked to Major Ronald's horse.

"I'm sorry, Major."

Major Ronald smiled, shook his head, took the glass, and drank it all in one gulp.

Finally, Winters, holding a wine glass, walked up to Colonel Skoll's horse.

Skul took the glass, gazed at the much younger man before him, and sighed deeply. Of all the words he wanted to say, he could only say one: "If only you had come to Thundergren County back then..."

Winters didn't speak, but simply nodded in acknowledgment.

……

Behind a window on the second floor of the city hall, a masked man silently watched the people seeing them off.

“Come with us, Moro.” Another officer in a hussar uniform tugged at the masked man’s sleeve, pleading, “You have a fiancée waiting for you!”

Captain Morrow remained silent.

The hull cavalry captain knew that once his colleague made up his mind, he would be as stubborn as a rock.

The cavalry could set off at any moment, and the hussar captain asked anxiously and angrily, "Why are you staying here? You at least have to convince me!"

“There are many, many people who, like me before, have been driven like slaves by the Heds.” Captain Morrow looked at the figure serving wine in the stirrups: “That guy said he… no, he said he could bring our people back… so I won’t be leaving here for now.”

The hussar captain was speechless. He stamped his foot and said, "Then you should at least write a letter to Dunya! Let her know you're still alive!"

Moro unconsciously touched the mask, the cold touch of the iron mask returning to his fingertips. He said indifferently, "It's better to let her think I'm dead."

……

The sharp bugle call rang out, and the imposing hussars rode out of the city. The battle in Vaughan was not yet over, and the hussars would continue to brandish their sabers.

However, for the people of Tiefeng County, the departure of the cavalrymen was like a kind of "sign," dividing tomorrow into two parts.

Although small groups of Teldens still roamed Lower Iron Peak, and although they still had to guard against enemies from Vaughan County sneaking into Iron Peak, and although rebuilding their homes was incredibly difficult, the darkest days were finally over, and people could begin to look forward to some good things coming.

Antonio Serbiati also left with the Paratul Hussars.

Antonio has military duties to attend to and cannot stay in Iron Peak County for an extended period.

He arrived with only a small squad of guards, and he left with the same small squad of guards—plus Lieutenant Don Juan.

Don Juan came to Iron Peak County originally to bring Winters back to Veneta. However, it now seems that this is an impossible task.

According to Juan himself, the weather in September was quite nice, but it's too cold in Palatour now, and he's a little homesick...

Respecting Don Juan's wishes, Winters did not force the student council president to stay, nor did Antonio force Lieutenant Juan to remain.

As for Lieutenant Colonel Moritz... after a closed-door conversation with Moritz, António made "personnel adjustments".

Moritz received a verbal appointment, and in terms of organization, he was no longer under the command of the Third "Great Venetta" Legion, but became a member of the [Veneta Military Advisory Group]—a military entity that would theoretically provide assistance to the Second Paratul Republic.

Winters was unaware that Antonio had already assigned his best subordinates to him.

……

With the departure of many people, including Antonio, Juan, Ronald, and Gaisa, Winters suddenly felt empty and even somewhat lost.

Fortunately, he finally had plenty of time to play with the puppy, brush Changsheng's fur, sleep, and, more importantly, to be by Anna's side.

But Anna... Anna has her own worries.

There will definitely be another chapter this weekend! I promise! It's not a flag! This chapter is actually on Thursday!
[Thank you to all the readers for your collections, reading, subscriptions, recommendations, monthly tickets, donations, and comments. Thank you everyone!]
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(End of this chapter)