Transcendent Noble

"The prairie is flat and vast, magnificent and boundless, without hills, few woods, no roads, and no trace of the holy city is easily seen. It is just an endless grassland, the monsoon blows past, and the grass The leaves swing like endless waves. Therefore, the prairie is also called Wharton Prairie, or Wharton Grass Sea."

Lilia blinked and curiously asked: "Why is it called Wharton Prairie? "

"Because of the Wharton River." Lord Abel explained with a smile: "Madam, the Wharton River is a shallow river that runs across the prairie. She is the river of life in the prairie. The twelve holy cities Distributed on both banks of the Wharton River. The prairie people call her the Carlissang River, which means the Mother River."

"No one knows how big Wharton Prairie is, and no one is sure about the Wharton Prairie. The source is there. The prairie people rumored that the Wharton River originated from the ghost shadow forest on the westernmost side of the prairie. Behind that forest is a towering mountain range. Scholars think that the mountain range is the northwest corner of the Dodo Kingdom Warren mountain range. Part of it. The name of the Wharton also comes from this." Lord Abel took a sip of coffee and continued: "The Wharton is wide and shallow. The narrowest channel is more than ten meters, and the deepest is less than one meter. It is winding and rugged, has many branches, and forms a large area of ​​meadow wetland. There are abundant water and grass, and there are countless antelopes, wild horses, wild donkeys, prairie rhinos, and short-horned bison. Of course, brown bears and wolves are indispensable. Flocks, moonsaber leopards and other beasts, it is said that some people have seen terrifying sabertooth beasts. I personally think that the rumors are true... There are too many animals in the prairie, and there will be no less than tens of millions of bison."

"I have had the honor of seeing a migrating bison...I really don’t know what words to use to describe that spectacular scene. I don’t think even Knight can count on millions. Only under the hooves of a running bull survived.” Lord Abel shook the head emotionally, and continued: “However, the most threatening to humans is the jackals and ogre in the grassland. Especially those jackals, who act vigorously. Sensitive, domesticated prairie gray wolves as a helper, you can smell the smell of humans from far away. If the caravan is targeted by these beasts, then you have to be careful. If necessary, you have to release the red-eyed crow and ask for help from the holy city. "

"Seek help from the Holy City?" Victor grasped the key points and asked enthusiastically: "Teacher Abel, please tell us about the situation in the Holy City. How do they ensure the safety of the caravan? Inside the city. What are the forces? How do they work?"

Lord Abel respectfully said: "My lord, the 12 holy cities of Wharton Prairie control an area of ​​nearly 500,000 square kilometers. Humans mainly operate in this area, and apart from this are all wilderness. "He paused, then said: "My lord, our Buck Chamber of Commerce has only been to Helm City, Holy Feather City and Holy Armor City. I don't know much about the other holy cities, but they are all the same, so I will give you Introduce the largest Holy Armor City. "

Victor stirred the silver spoon in the coffee cup and said with his jaw: "Then talk about Holy Armor City." "

"Holy Armor City is located on the southern bank of the Wharton River, only 17 days' drive from the Whitewater Fortress in the Kingdom of Dodo. It has an area of ​​about 22 square kilometers, no castle, no moat, only trenches and a 24-meter high stone city wall. The lower half of this city wall is made of smooth limestone, and the upper half is made of gravel and Built with mortar. At present, this prairie city is owned by the Duke of Berne of the Sasan Empire. The town affairs are under the charge of the priestess Dura of the church. She has 1,000 Paladin and 23 priests, and 800 are led by the Great Knight of the Bernier family. The Sasan cavalry is stationed in the city. They are only responsible for defending the city and territory, and are not involved in specific management work. "

Victor frowned and asked, "How can such a small force and such a short city wall block Dodian's surprise attack?" The church never intervenes in wars between lords. Could it be that the prairie people are helping Sasan's army against Dodian? "

Abel shook his head and said: "The prairie people are like the church, they don't intervene in the wars of outsiders. As for why Dodo didn't attack Holy Armor City, I don't know, maybe there are other reasons. As a neutral caravan, we don't care about or inquire about these things. "

Victor nodded, raised his hand to signal Abel to continue the introduction.

"Usually, the Paladin and Sasan cavalry carried 10 days of dry food and went out to patrol the monsters around the city of Helm. Grassland herdsmen generally do not live in cities, they drive cattle to live in chasing water and weeds. In the water season, the herders returned to the holy city, set up tents outside the city, slaughtered cattle and sheep, sold hides, horns and horses, and bought food and armaments. After two seasons of rain and snow, the herdsmen will leave the holy city again. "

"Caravans can buy Sasan Empire grain and linen, herders' beef and mutton, high-quality leather, woolen fabrics, various herbs, and horses and livestock in Holy Armor City. Most small caravans often stop at Holy Armor City, and our unimpeded caravans will continue to advance northward, and after another 20 days' journey, you can enter the Sasan Empire. However, we have to pay a bridge fee of 1 Kinsoul per person to the holy city, and the priest of the holy city will also give us three red-eyed believers, so that we can ask for help from the holy city in case of unexpected events. "Speaking of this, Abel said with a bitter smile: "Our Bucks Business Group pays as little as 7 or 800 tolls, and as many as thousands. Because we have to hire hundreds of mercenary guards. "

Victor asked: "Why hire so many people?" Are jackals on the grassland rampant? "

"The jackals are only one aspect, mainly to guard against the grassland herdsmen. "

Lilia said in surprise: "How is this possible?" Old Ham is a herdsman on the prairie. He said that the son of the prairie is brave, warm and hospitable, and the prairie daughter is beautiful and affectionate. The prairie people are all devout followers of the Lord of Radiance. They will not harm travelers, but help those who have suffered. "She turned to Victor and said, "Old Hamm never lied!" "

"Beautiful lady, your men really didn't lie. Both men and women of the prairie are exquisite riding skills, arrows like gods, sturdy and brave. They have two horses, eagles and dogs. They can shoot a prairie marmot 200 meters away with a recurve bow on horseback. They dare to fight with brown bears with a scimitar. The small group of jackal bandits dare not fight against the prairie warrior. "Abel said with a weird face: "The herders don't hurt the travelers, but their enthusiasm is unbearable..."

"The herdsmen tribe will entertain them warmly when they encounter small caravans or travelers. If they don't get their guests drunk, they will never give up, and then... they let their beautiful and affectionate wives or daughters accompany the guests. "

Lilia powdered her face slightly red, and Victor asked playfully: "What happens after the guest wakes up?" Abel shook his head and laughed, "Then don't leave, and be a herder with peace of mind!" If you are forced to leave..." Victor put down the silver spoon, and said, "I drank the wine, ate the meat, and the woman slept. If I had to leave again, that would be an insult to the prairie people, and I would be in the wild again... hehe, stay with people and goods. "

"Aren't the warriors among the herders Knights?" How could they, as aristocrats, be so... so arrogant? "Lilia flushed, panting with rage said.

Abel said with a smile contemptuously: "Can a warrior be considered a noble?" They have long lost the family name and the glory of Knight. Their bloodline is mixed, and the strongest warrior has to rely on the cleansing potions provided by Sasan Empire to be promoted to the trainee Knight. The behavior of the herder warrior is no different from that of the ordinary herder, and some warriors are not even the leader of the herder. ”

The church and Lord Sasan ruled the Holy Armor City together. It was a shelter in the grassland, a supply station, a trading port, a military stronghold, and a church set up by the church for the followers of the grassland people. Although the priest is for the grassland herdsmen The influence is huge, but the herders are still semi-wild people. The prairie people live as nomads and have no fixed homes. Although they have faith, they cannot always pray in the church and do not need to worship the lord. The lord can only obtain cattle from the herdsman through trade. Sheep and horses. Therefore, the three have not established a stable relationship of protection, redemption, and dedication. Grassland herdsmen are similar to mountain people, except that the herdsmen are stronger and more united. They even formed their own culture and traditions, which can be called Whartons.

In order to curb the spread of orc power, those in power must tolerate the semi-independence of Whartons. For nomads, population resources are extremely important, and the warm and hospitable spirit of mutual assistance is that they unite their compatriots , The root of multiplication and growth. This is exactly the same as the habit of the mountain people to accept the victims.

Imagine that a small herder tribe was attacked by a jackal, and the members of the tribe scattered for their lives. They lost the cattle that they depended on for their livelihood. Sheep are either starved to death or eaten by wild beasts on the vast prairie. If other herder tribes do not lend a helping hand, then the overall strength of the Wharton will continue to weaken, and it is inevitable that they will die in the cruel survival competition. Any wo The herdsmen do not want to end up in the same tragic end. When everyone needs it, they are enthusiastic and generous, and the custom of keeping their wives and guests has become a tradition of as it should be by rights.

Looking back, losing the threat of the Jackal clan, the Whartons will become like the Huns on Earth, relying on war to plunder population and wealth.

In fact, Lilia doesn’t care about the steppes at all. Whether it’s enthusiasm or arrogance, this kind of custom has become a hindrance to the freelance caravan going north, then it won’t work! Lord Abel also has a sneer on his face. We also need to trade with them. That's how the 20% of the raw sugar is sold to the herders. As for the herders to ensure the peace of the trade road, he will never consider it.

The butt decides that the head is nothing more than that. Victor It was funny in his heart, but he had to admit that the small-scale smuggling caravan was impossible across the Wharton Prairie.

Abel picked up the cup, drank the fragrant and bitter coffee, and continued: "Shang The team took a rest in Horseshoe Town on the border of the Sasan Empire, and then walked north for four days to reach Bronze Halberd City, the main city of the Diocletian family and the end of the caravan. We deliver the goods there, fill the carriage with green wheat and linen, and then return along the road. "

Lilia curiously asked: "Is the Sasanian city like a village of wild people?" "

"Uh...Madam, although Sasanian's barbaric reputation has been circulating in the Three Kingdoms, I assure you that this is not true. "Abel paused," said: "Bronze Halberd City is the most prosperous city I have ever seen. It is densely populated, well-developed trade, orderly, and the streets are very clean...Of course, its environment and order cannot be the same as the Golden Water City of the York family. Mention on equal terms is not as good as Flatlake Town, but it is four times the size of Golden Water City and has a population of nearly 300,000..." Victor interjected and asked, "How many people does Sasan Empire have?" How many troops? What are the specialties? Which products are in short supply? What are the forces within the empire? "

Abel said embarrassingly: "My lord, I don't know much about Sasan Empire... Our Bucks Business Group has only been to Bronze Halberd City. The Wimbledon family of Sasan Empire has a Chamber of Commerce in Bronze Halberd City. We just need to trade with them. Unless we go to the Barbarian Grand Bazaar held by Tatun dukedom, we don’t need to go too far, and that’s the task of Saber-Toothed Tiger Business Group. They are the confidants of Lord Sophia..."

" Talk about what you know. "Victor waved his hand disapprovingly.