When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

The green mail boat stopped at the small fishing port, dropped off a thick stack of gazettes, and quickly set off again.

The postman, wearing a raincoat, picked up the gazettes, mounted his horse, and delivered the notices and booklets to the mailboxes at the entrances of various hundred-household districts and villages.

Unlike civilian letters, these gazettes from the Supreme Council and the Holy See had the highest priority.

These mailboxes were made of wooden planks, and every day the head of the hundred households or the town chief would send someone to check the mailboxes at the intersections.

Iron Gate Town was no exception.

As a small town at the gateway to Thousand River Valley, it used to be a necessary stop for merchant ships, carrying wool, ceramics, grain…

Ships would often stop here to rest, but since Thousand River Valley became independent, the surface of the Nauan River had become much quieter.

After several wars, the town's population had dwindled considerably.

But there were still two to three thousand permanent residents, making it a relatively large town in Hottam County.

The monk in charge of ringing the bell yawned, took the key from his neck, and inserted it into the iron lock of the mailbox.

The rusty lock made a harsh noise.

Seeing the gazettes tied with hemp rope in the mailbox, the bell-ringing monk was visibly stunned.

Today's gazettes were much thicker than usual.

Casually pulling out a sheet, the bell-ringing monk took a closer look, and the hand holding the gazette instantly clenched.

"Town Chief, Town Chief West!"

… … … …

Early morning.

The townspeople who went out didn't walk far before they saw a crowd gathering towards the town hall.

Outside the town hall, on a large notice board with a rain shelter, two clerks carried paste buckets and pasted several notices and pictures on it.

On the bright red woodcut, a bald devil with the Blue Bee flag was digging a dam with a hoe.

Another picture showed a devastating flood coming.

Although they couldn't understand the words of the notice, just looking at the pictures made the townspeople tremble.

A well-dressed notary stood up and recited in his loud and clear voice.

"We need to conscript laborers to build flood dikes and dams, and also send people to Lower Riverford County!"

"Oh my god, tonight, men aged sixteen to fifty, in groups of ten, will draw lots at the town hall!"

"Hey, damn it, why are the Leya people so bad!"

More and more townspeople gathered in front of the notice board, blocking the road.

They were unwilling to disperse, but stopped in place to discuss.

The county chief could pass the order to conscript laborers with a simple signature.

For ordinary civilians, that was like cutting off their flesh.

Autumn harvest was coming, and if there were no men in the family or only one male, the sky would fall.

They had only had a few good days.

Duke Winghive dug up the dam, the despotic government failed miserably to pay off the bonds, and the fanatics of the Holy Path sect came to preach every day.

Remembering the previous rumors that Melia T was the Duke's adopted daughter and not worthy of being elected monarch.

Only a few years of stability, and now there was going to be trouble again.

After the clerks finished posting the gazettes, they repeated them indistinctly, and then shouted loudly: "Remember to come to the town hall in groups of ten tonight, don't force me to come to your door to invite you, those who don't come will be automatically registered as laborers."

A group of ten meant that ten households in the vicinity were a group.

The lottery was also to randomly draw one or two people from the ten people, instead of randomly drawing one or two hundred people from a thousand people.

In this way, the ten people must supervise each other, and if one runs away, the probability of the remaining people being drawn would greatly increase.

The two clerks left through the crowd, one of them returned to the town hall, and the other, feigning a stomachache, quickly walked into a residential house.

When he walked in, he had to turn back and peek to make sure no one saw him before entering the yard.

The yard was surrounded by a chest-high fence, but it was overgrown with weeds.

Iron Gate Town had been "occupied" by the Holy Son's rebel army, causing a lot of damage.

Even today, there are still many empty houses in the town.

Today, there were actually two people in the empty house.

The light in the wooden-framed rammed earth house was dim, and only a few rays of light could leak in through the gaps in the eaves and roof.

A middle-aged monk and a masked man sat side by side behind the light.

"Ascetic" monk Bartis saw the clerk coming and asked with a smile: "How is Town Chief West considering?"

"He's still unwilling, Town Chief West is too suspicious. It's too difficult for you to insert a stranger into his side." The clerk smiled bitterly, "I've been working under him for almost ten years, and he doesn't trust me very much."

"That stubborn old thing." The clerk found the masked man's voice very familiar, but he didn't dare to guess.

Bartis took out a gold pound and threw it to the clerk: "This is for you, be careful when you use it."

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"Understood, understood." The clerk's eyes were almost closed with laughter.

"Don't forget to spread the word that 'Melia T is dead' and 'Melia T is not a noble' in the past few days."

"Definitely not."

The clerk happily left the house.

Several pale-faced men walked out of the shadows and stood behind the door.

These were the last Shadow Men of the Church in Thousand River Valley.

"It seems that there is no hope on the Iron Gate Town side." The masked man tore off the black cloth on his face, revealing a face that Horn was somewhat familiar with.

Count Sampoli would actually run to this small Iron Gate Town, if someone saw it, they would definitely jump up in shock.

"What about those fortresses?"

"It's no good either." Sampoli said dejectedly, "I don't know where Melia T found these old stubborn people, they are all impervious to reason."

Bartis was silent.

As long as Melia T's noble status remained for one day, it would be difficult for the mountain knights of her base to betray her.

He knew this, but he didn't expect that everyone in the key positions would be so difficult to betray.

Did Melia T really have such a strong ability to recognize people? Were everyone full of loyalty?

"It's okay, once the debt crisis breaks out, combined with the evidence of Melia T's identity, even the most determined people will waver." Bartis said, pushing a letter in front of Sampoli.

"What is this?"

"A letter to King Ginigis."

Sampoli's breathing paused.

"You can open it and take a look." Bartis smiled, "The evaluation of you is absolutely appropriate and fair, but I'm afraid it will be difficult to send it out."

After Melia T went missing, Herman, who presided over the Supreme Council, implemented letter control.

All sent letters had to undergo mandatory review.

It wasn't that Bartis couldn't send it out through informal channels, but he insisted on Sampoli's help.

In the end, it was about sharing the crime and showing loyalty.

Sampoli's eyes swept over the words of praise for him on the letter.

But he also saw the detailed investigation of the road geography, military strength, and economic distribution of Thousand River Valley behind the letter.

"This letter…" Gritting his teeth, Sampoli put it back into the envelope, "Please give it to me."

"I await your good news." Bartis stood up with a smile, put on his hood again, "By the way, let me tell you, I will be contacting the mountain faction nobles in the near future."

"Now? We're not sure if Melia T is really dead." Sampoli stood up abruptly, "If she finds out, it might be exposed."

"Hahahaha." Bartis's meaningful face was hidden in the shadows, "Not too early, not too late, just right."