Once there, two weeks had passed.
When George and his party reached the territory, Johannes' castle and outside the town, there were already many more snow piles.
Compared to the outside, this land with sunshine, the snow seems to fall a little less.
Countess Elisabeth completed the heavy commission and provided enough food. But the remaining part, Elizabeth is not intended to escort people over.
To be honest, the 70,000 to 80,000 bushels of grain alone is already a very large number. And George also believed that such a quantity would also exceed the maximum expectations of the Duke and others.
But on the first night of rest in the territory, after listening to the 'conclusion' that Anthony said, George tossed and turned all night thinking, but decided to send the remaining 20,000 bushels, plus 20,000 of his own money, together with the Wingwind City.
In this snowy weather, even if there are horses and carts, I'm afraid it won't take a week to reach there. And if he wants to escort the grain, just 100 knights are not enough, he may need more than 500 horsemen, and 300 or 400 soldiers.
Or simply pull the more than five hundred soldiers over, saving the horsemen who can't fight...
He knew that it was likely to be a laborious decision, but that's precisely why he decided that he had to send the grain over.
After all, the grain transported by that waterway, if for some ridiculous reason, eventually could not reach its destination. Then these grains of his would become the most important key to the war at the front.
That's right, this grain must be sent to the most critical location!
Before leaving, Anthony talked with George again.
"My lord, have you seen these hairs of mine?"
"Hmm?"
"I'm already going bald - there are too few books in your study, and not many of the ones sent over by the various lords are usable. I know you're sending something over this time. But if you don't bring back something, the lords won't die of hunger, but I'll lose all my hair."
George drifted off.
Indeed, for so long, Antony had been doing all this entirely from his own memory. And books were the most important kind of tool for these great scholars - the equivalent of Baidu for internet users.
With these rigorous books, Anthony thereafter, among the work, not only can save a lot of time, but also to avoid a lot of mistakes.
"The book is important to us." Anthony continued: "Let's not talk about the knowledge. It is the various monsters in the black tide, Wingwind City will record a lot - those monsters are a thousand and one, I really have not memorized. In addition..."
After a pause, Anthony looked at that Rona who was lying on the sofa flipping through the book: "You are not planning to let Rona, and those knights of yours, read grape growing techniques, human geography of the valley, Austin family history, and that vulgar noble romance novel every day in the future to become literate, right?"
"..."
Only now did George understand what that 'future Grand Maester' had been reading every day...
Indeed, when Anthony came to the asylum, he only brought over come a few solitary books. And neither George his father's study, nor the various lord's, there were no good things.
And obviously, for a girl, in viticulture, geography, history, romance novels. It was already obvious what she would spend her days holding and reading...
George told Aggie to put this down in the book. And told Anthony to turn around and burn the books that Rona always read.
After hearing George's promise, Anthony could not help but breathe a sigh of relief: "Then please, my lord. You think more about this matter - the matter of borrowing books may be a little more difficult than you think. As I told you, those fools are not very fond of sharing knowledge, so you may have to spend a little. Especially books with techniques written on them, or banned books that they would never let just anyone look through..."
"Are you saying I'll get slaughtered hard?" George said with a raised eyebrow.
"That's probably a better outcome..." Anthony seemed a little less optimistic about it: "Prepare your mind."
George rubbed his chin, looked at the university scholar in front of him, and said, "Would it be useful if I mentioned you? I heard that you have written many books, you should be very famous, right?"
"Ahem, I suggest you don't, because it might only backfire... By the way! If you have the chance to bring me some more alchemy tools! The things we're using now are so imprecise that I can only make some ordinary goods. To make real magic potions and alchemical items, you need the kind of good goods that can not be exchanged with ten times the gold!
For Anthony's words, George fiercely guilty of a blank stare, without saying a word directly out of the hall.
"Don't be in a hurry to go ah! I'll give you a list of books and a list! ~"
...
After leaving the castle, George inspected those grains on the wagon some more - mainly to see if there was a fine feed like beans, which war horses desperately needed, so that he could leave some behind. However, he found that there was almost nothing of this kind in Elizabeth's inventory, which made him feel a little disappointed.
He reckoned that Elizabeth might have some good fodder, but thought it must all be reserved for one horse...
After that George then discussed with Martin, Mishan and others about the defense of the shelter.
Forget the calculation, after the new refugees came, the shelter added only a hundred or so soldiers. I'm afraid there will be a wave of refugees coming in winter, leaving only these hundred people with a few knights, he was really not at ease.
So, he finally asked Garvey's nephew to send him a letter.
The south has basically been peaceful, even if there will be a wave of corpses, there will not be much scale. And in the absence of desecrators, those territories can easily be handled by a few hundred militiamen, relying on fortifications, as long as someone presides over them.
So under George's arrangement, Garvey will preside over the lords, draw some of their own soldiers, stationed in the area where the shelter - as for Lord George, with his Knights Templar, naturally, to escort supplies together, to Wingwind City.
So, if they saw that there were only a hundred soldiers in the shelter, it was naturally an extremely reasonable thing to do.
Moreover, it is reasonable that those lords who treat their territories like their lives would not come in person. And both Martin and Mishan will stay in the shelter, their two mouths, enough to fool all the illiterate people.
But the truth often deviates from the plan, so when George came out of the entrance to the valley on the third day, saw that followed the traces left by people, horses and carts in the snow to come to the three barons, the face can be described as a wonderful expression.
In addition to these three, there were twelve knights. Four of them were the ones who had sworn allegiance to George - it could be said that the lords were all here today.
"My lord, with that brother of mine at the border river, it will be completely sufficient. I, an idle man staying in the territory with nothing to do, thought about it and thought I should make a contribution." Baron Garvey panted and laughed as he rode up behind George, looking like a child who had skipped school: "I've been to Wingwind City so often that I can find it with my eyes closed, and I know a shortcut - that's two or three days' time saved, a round trip can That's a week."
"Exactly!" "Maybe we'll escape the blizzard with a week less travel time!" "I know a lot of people in Wingwind City! Can help a lot!" "It's been a long time since I've been there, I really miss it..."
Looking at these dozen guys full of excitement, George half a day did not say a word. And after these guys finished, they also began to measure up the team.
As if... The people here, they all know each other.
And those knights are outside the armor, a layer of tightly sewn fur, a little can not see those who represent the identity of the divine symbols. Not only that, those divine symbols of the sword, spear, etc. are also wrapped in a thick layer of tarpaulin, carried on their backs - as for the waist of those swords, hands of those guns, are ordinary things ...
Low-profile, so that they are a little unrecognizable ...
After a long time, looking at these guys with a puzzled face, looking at their own eyes. George cold face, uttered a sentence: "But you know, touched the military secrets?"
"???" "My lord, military, military secrets??" "My lord! I am loyal to you!" "My lord, I am your vassal..." "My lord, don't worry, even if someone from the clergy comes to force me to ask questions, I will never reveal the secrets of the family head!"
George's eyes darted around the faces of these twelve knights, only to feel a moment of speechlessness - indeed, these knights are their own vassals, and with the secrets he next intended to fabricate, to hide from the vassals, may be a bit unjustifiable... In that case, this board he really can not fall.
So, he finally set his eyes on a few barons.
"Ahem, my lord, actually the barons... I would like to say that nobles can actually have more than one title..." "Yes, my lord! You are a bishop, how can you not have a few real nobles guarding around you!" "Let us help you run your errands..."
In fact, what these guys said did speak to George's heart - of course, not the matter of nobles acting as the bishop's guardian knights. The word bishop is not something he would dare to mention in Ariadne.
However, he does need someone to run errands - he is not just planning to just send food this time so simple. The valley lacked a lot of things, and Rongfeng City was the largest city-state in the West, even if it was overly dilapidated, it still had everything.
Alchemy tools, books/recipes, alchemy furnaces, seeds and other things, he needs a lot. And Wingwind City is undoubtedly a place where these things can be replenished.
But most of these things are in the hands of the upper class, their own identity is a bit sensitive, and ordinary knights, can not talk to the city's big nobles - at least a baron to do.
Don't underestimate the barons, they are in the city of Wingwind, but have some contacts. And Baron Garvey is a good shield, the Lord of the River is also some reputation even in the city of Rongfeng, the team if in his name to send food, but will be a lot less trouble.
So this guy finally pretended to sigh: "Ai... Originally, according to the regulations, after someone discovered the secret, I was supposed to take some measures."
This statement could not help but make people's faces pale.
"But since you are all people who are loyal to me, it doesn't matter if you know about this matter - I believe that you will never spread this matter, right?"
After these thirteen people heard this, they almost all stretched out their hands and began to swear on the sky. Swearing to keep the secret.
This scene seemed to be déjà vu - of course, the original Baron Garvey just didn't point his finger to the sky.
Instead, George nodded his head and gave an unmistakable look of trust.
"The vast majority of people in Wingwind City still don't know the exact circumstances of my arrival in the valley, and it was all deliberate on my part."
After many people heard these words, they couldn't help but think of the phrase 'did not visit Rongfeng City' that George said at the beginning. But it was to make them even more curious.
"Because the most important part of our mission here is to build the Great Wall and close the entrance to the valley completely!" George looked north of the entrance to the valley with a stern face - a fog that no one could see. And with these people's footsteps, they definitely did not go there: "You know what the impact will be if this matter is leaked."
These 'military secrets' were like a thunderbolt that hit everyone present - including Jack the honest man.
Because it means that Wingwind City has long been abandoned by the Holy See.
And the place where everyone will du bet on is within the great wall of that valley...
After the shock, the people thought carefully, this is indeed extremely reasonable!
To put aside what the bishop had said to them over the past few months, the location of the valley alone was fully in line with strategic expectations.
Many of the important resource production areas in the south are located south of the valley. And these lands are easy to attack and difficult to defend. So if the defensive power of the West is lost, then the enemy can simply follow the river down and use the Black Pearl Valley as a stationing point. Then what the many kingdoms in the south will face will be a huge disaster.
But if the Black Pearl Valley is still there, then the situation is different again.
In Rongfeng City down, but not a good route of attack - because of the many wars in history, in the south of Rongfeng City, the south enough has erected a strong fortress. All of them are hard to gnaw.
So, with the Valley as a barrier in place, many kingdoms in the south are then secured.
The reason why the enemy's heart is Wingwind City is because this is the last nail in the north.
Garvey and others even thought that if they were the enemy's decision makers, they would have let the army attack in two ways - one way would be directly south after the duel at Aqua City. One way will be west to pull out this nail, based on the city of Wingwind and the Black Pearl Valley, and attack the logistics of the south.
And the Earl's Castle in the Black Pearl Valley will be an extremely important location...
George and Garvey and the others looked at each other and suddenly they all understood why there were demons in the hinterland of this Ariadne before the fall of the king's capital...
"If countless desecrators had poured out of the valley, what kind of a scene would the North face..." "The duke and the lords, no matter how united they are, will not be able to resist these two armies..." "Fortunately, the Earl did not become that fallen man." "Hooray, hooray..."
"..."
George looked at the sun above that sky, covered by the mist, a chill and a sense of sadness gradually surged up in his heart.
Someone gave him the most missing time and gave the world a chance...
Next year, there will be a red blizzard in the valley...