industrial lord

Chapter 34 The First Stop

More than 50 victims in ragged clothes were walking weakly on the main road. On the left was the dry and cracked farmland, and on the right was the river with a large river bank exposed. The scorching sun above their heads refused to hide behind the clouds.

Behind the victims, a group of local farmers followed far away with simple weapons, for fear that they would turn around and come back.

Near noon, the group of victims finally moved to the other side of the territory boundary marker, and the farmers breathed a sigh of relief.

But their work is not over yet, and they have to go back to monitor another batch of victims crossing the border.

At this time, an elderly priest walked in front of him.

"Baron Wesson built a rest area in front, everyone work harder, and we will be able to have lunch soon!"

To be a priest, you must first have a loud voice, and you must speak with confidence, otherwise people who sit farther away during the sermon will not be able to hear the voice.

When the victims heard the news from the priest, their lead-filled feet gained a bit more strength, and they moved forward a little faster.

Among these victims, a middle-aged man who walked in the front was tall, but thin like the others, his hair and beard were messy and covered with grass clippings and mud, and his face—especially his nose—was covered with mud .

On his back was an old woman, and the old woman was also carrying a small package.

The priest who came to report looked around the victims, and then whispered to the priests who followed the victims: "After lunch later, let the 'old, weak, sick, disabled and pregnant' and their families go to the camp in a carriage first."

The accompanying priest is now the backbone of this group of victims, and he is a little familiar with these victims, so he went over to the middle-aged man who was carrying the old woman on his back and said, "Hozenploz, take Cass with you after eating." Old Mrs. Parr, let's go to camp."

Hozenploz just nodded numbly.

One day in the early spring of this year, he was about to go to Mrs. Casper's house to grab something. Unexpectedly, when he was about to break in, there was a loud noise from the direction of the river embankment, and the water in the village overflowed his feet in a short time.

Hozenpoloz had already forgotten what he was thinking at the time, and when he came back to his senses, he was already carrying Mrs. Kaspar on his back, holding a stone mill that made music when it turned, which he wanted to snatch this time. It was difficult to walk in the flood water that was about to be submerged to the knees.

The two came to the hill outside the village. Looking back, they found that the floodwater was as high as the dining table, and many houses had collapsed. From time to time, people and livestock were seen struggling in the floodwater.

It seems that water came to this land once a year, and the flood receded to a white land, followed by continuous high temperature and no rain from early spring to early summer, and the wells in the village were filled with silt brought by the flood.

When someone showed symptoms of the plague, the landlord immediately ran back to the castle, closed the drawbridge and closed the gate, and the people who planned to rebuild their homes fled for their lives.

After bypassing a small forest, there was a fence in front of it, and a shed was built inside. The smell in the air was like a stimulant, and many victims rushed over with all their strength.

"Don't rush! Don't run! Food is plentiful!"

The priests shouted loudly.

But those disaster victims are not willing to listen, the extremely hungry people can do anything.

The knights sent by the local lords were not as good as the priests. As soon as they stretched out their long sticks, they tripped several people and knocked on the heads of several people. These people squatted obediently on the ground.

Hozenpoloz walked slowly with old Mrs. Caspar on his back, and did not run with others like the other residents with their families.

The accompanying priest went up and said a few words to the knights, and asked Hozenploz and the victims with their children to go and get the food first.

A little monk came over and took Hozenpoloz to the table and chairs, put old Madam Kasper down first, and then asked him to wash his hands, and then took the food.

Frederick set up several rest areas in front to give the victims some food, publicize the policy, and at the same time screen the sick among them to prevent the plague from entering the camp.

Today Frederick came here disguised as a little monk to check the situation. Some things were not as he expected, but there was nothing he could do.

According to his standards, each person has a bowl of soup of about 500ml and a half-pound of multigrain steamed buns per meal.

The lord here mixed one pot of condensed soup with four pots of water, and then threw the miscellaneous grains and steamed buns into the pot to make a paste. The "exquisite and expensive" slime bowls and spoons were all turned into ordinary wooden bowls collected from the people. Spoon.

Even the plastic bags containing the condensed soup and multigrain steamed buns have gone.

What can Frederick do? He can only ask the priests to ensure that the soup is boiled for 5 minutes before serving. If the steamed buns are moldy, at least remove the moldy part, and scald the wooden bowl and spoon with boiling water.

Hozenpoloz went over to wash his hands, followed in line to receive two wooden bowls and wooden spoons, and came back with two bowls of mush.

Today's soup base is ordinary bean soup. There is a little more water, but there is still a little smell of spices. The boiled multigrain steamed bread turns into a thick paste after stirring.

In his opinion, the aroma of this bowl of mush is comparable to that of a roasted pig.

He brought the paste to the table and saw that the little monk was talking to the old lady Kaspar, but the old lady didn't respond at all, like a stone.

"It's useless." Hozenploz put down the bowl and pointed to his head, "She saw her grandson washed away by the water..."

Then he whispered in Madam Kaspar's ear, "This is from Kasper."

Old Madam Caspar had just turned from a rotting statue into a human being, picking up a spoon and eating slowly.

Hozenploz shook his head and said to Frederick: "This is the only way to go now."

After speaking, he drank the mush in the bowl in one go, and then licked it all up.

Frederick asked, "Is she your mother?"

Hozenploz said the excuse he had already thought up: "She is my aunt."

At this time, the victims had each been given a bowl of paste, and there was still a little left in the pot, so the people here poured two barrels of well water into it, preparing to boil it.

Some people couldn't wait any longer and wanted to go and drink directly. As a result, the order maintainers stood by the pot with sticks, and no one dared to take another step.

Frederick didn't dare to let them drink unboiled water, in case there was a cholera outbreak in the camp, it would be over.

At this time, the priests came on stage, and they still have some credibility among the victims, so let everyone wait.

A knight walked to the pot, threw a small fireball the size of a ping pong ball into the pot, stirred it a few times with a spoon, and after a while, the water in the pot boiled.

Although there was a burnt smell in the pot of miscellaneous grain steamed bun soup, the victims could not control so much. It would be nice to have some to eat and some to drink.

This meal is not full for those who have been hungry for a long time, but it is also a serious meal of hot rice and hot soup, which has given many victims a little energy.

After they were full, they were driven to another shed that was only covered with sackcloth and covered with hay on the ground. This was where they rested and slept.

The priest pointed to the area enclosed on both sides and said that it was a toilet, and he went there to solve the problem. Anyone who defecated anywhere would be hung up and beaten.

Everyone sat numbly on the hay, wondering if they had listened.

Hozenploz boarded the carriage with Mrs. Kaspar on his back, and left the temporary camp with the little monk and several disaster victims with children.

The eyes of the passengers on the carriage were dull, and the priests told them to get on the carriage as soon as they got on, and no one asked where they were going.

(End of this chapter)