Chapter 269 Shock (two in one, please subscribe!)
The rushing water rushed towards the sea, and the splashing water wet the mudflats on the shore.
In addition to the Namur Fortress standing proudly on the south bank of the Sauron River, the steel bridge that was built at an unknown time also made Earl Dale feel frightened.
He had never seen such a bridge before. In his inherent value concept, using precious "iron" to forge a bridge was simply something he could not even think of.
After a while,
At the signal from Earl Dale, the convoy that had been stagnant for a long time on the banks of the Solon River finally began to move forward slowly.
The wooden wheels loaded with heavy wooden boxes pressed on the spacious steel bridge, but did not cause the bridge to shake at all, which made Earl Dale secretly shocked.
This bridge built over the rushing river was as stable and solid as the land, which made Earl Dale's mentality change constantly.
Lord Dale was a wise man.
But precisely because he was a smart man, he was able to detect the unusualness of Idar Territory from these scattered details.
"stop!"
As soon as they crossed the bridge, the Idar soldiers guarding the port of the Solon River interrupted Earl Dale's thoughts and stopped the group without any courtesy.
"This is Idar Customs. Please inform us of your departure and destination, and briefly summarize the types and quantities of goods you are carrying." An official who looked like a staff member walked slowly over with several guards.
“Bold!”
Mrs. Dennis frowned and scolded.
As a noble lady, she had never been questioned so rudely by these ordinary, lowest-level officials.
But then again, the attitude displayed by the officials of Idar County was not really as "disrespectful" as Mrs. Dennis thought.
It's more due to Mrs. Danny herself.
She had long been accustomed to the flattery and respect of others, so the slightly indifferent attitude of the Idar man in front of her and the tone without any timidity or flattery made her feel quite unhappy.
Earl Dale turned around and glared at his wife fiercely.
Although he also didn't like the way the Idar man looked at him - calm and indifferent, he couldn't see any awe for him in that man's eyes.
But... after all, I need help from others at this moment.
In addition, he has already arrived at the territory of Idar at this moment, so Earl Dale does not want to cause any more trouble.
"Earl Dale Woolley Dennis is from the Dale Hills in the north. As for the destination... I haven't figured it out yet." Woolley Dennis said as if possessed by a ghost.
In fact, his original idea was very clear, that is to quickly leave this deadly hellhole in the eastern part of the empire, but... when he arrived at the Idar Territory, when the words were about to come out, Earl Dale hesitated.
He didn't know why, but there was no doubt that the "Regulations on the Travel of Nobles in the Eastern Empire and Guidelines for the Immigration of Nobles" signed by Bruno left a deep impression on him.
Unlike the simple requirement of charging high tolls when entering the interior of the empire, Bruno imposed extremely strict restrictions on the ways and methods of Norman nobles immigrating to Idar, and set many conditions that made Earl Dale feel very strange.
For example...
Norman nobles who wanted to settle in Idar, in addition to paying a settlement fee of 1,666 gold coins to Count Bruno Stuart of Idar and giving up their legal claims to the original noble territory, must also provide at least 120 legal jobs for the people of Idar! Linking the immigration requirements of the nobles with the employment needs of the lower-class people was a strange condition that Count Dale had never encountered before.
And besides that…
According to what was stated in the document by Count Bruno Stuart of Idar, the title of the Norman nobles who settled in Idar must not be higher than that of earl. If their own title is higher than that of earl, they should take the initiative to destroy all titles and claims higher than that of earl.
At the same time, all nobles must unconditionally obey the laws of Idal Territory. When Idal Law conflicts with the Imperial Code, Idal Law shall prevail! If we list all the clauses about nobles in the immigration guidelines, we can simply summarize them in one word: Get out! That's right!
In the opinion of Earl Dale Woolley Dennis, no noble would approve of the immigration policy issued by Lord Idar. If anyone accepted it, he would be a sinner who betrayed his family ancestors.
What's more, Bruno's move almost made it clear that he wanted to turn the Idar Territory into a country within a country located in the east of the Norman Empire!
It is for this reason that when the words "I haven't thought it through" came out of Earl Dale's mouth, even Earl Dale himself was a little confused.
Because he really couldn't figure out why, under the guidance of his extremely smart little head, he would give such a reply.
It is impossible to immigrate! It is impossible to immigrate in this life! Shouldn't he say firmly that he wants to go to the interior of the empire through Idar Territory? "Earl Dale..."
Even though he had predicted this in his heart, when the Idar official heard this, he couldn't help but be stunned.
The Earl was right! Those nobles whose fiefdoms were located north of Idar finally succumbed to the domineering spirit of Idar Count Bruno Stuart and the intimidation of the Odins. Whether they were allowed to immigrate or pass through, Idar would gain a large amount of extra income! "Count the property! Check the registration!"
The Idar official waved his hand, and the staff who had been waiting for a long time came forward and opened and checked the wooden boxes on the carriage one by one.
"How about this..."
Taking advantage of this gap, Earl Dale winked at his butler, and the old butler walked forward with a smile and took out a few gold coins from his cloth bag.
"Sir, these properties are the savings accumulated by my Earl for generations. I hope you can give me some help." The old butler said tremblingly.
The Idar official looked at the gold coins held in the old butler's hand with sharp eyes, then he raised his head, and a bright smile appeared on his originally calm face.
The Idar official carefully touched the gold coin in his hand, and then... his expression suddenly became extremely serious: "According to the relevant provisions of the Regulations on the Integrity and Self-discipline of Idar Public Officials, Idar public officials suspected of openly bribing should collect a fine equal to three times the amount of the bribe from the briber!"
What?!
What the hell is going on! When he heard this, Earl Dale was stunned, and the old butler just stood there in a daze.
Bruno had long been aware of this widespread situation throughout the empire, so...
With proper deterrence and fair judgment, when Bruno punished several Idar officials who accepted bribes to serve as a warning to others, the atmosphere in Idar became serious! The first stop in Idar was a setback, which undoubtedly made Earl Dale quite unhappy.
but……
Although he was unhappy, this incident made him realize once again the unusualness of the Idar Territory.
He paid the fine honestly and reported the property he was carrying to the Idar Customs. When Earl Dale successfully passed the port of the Soren River and set foot on the land of Idar, he felt his fragile little heart beating violently again.
The sun sets and night falls.
A series of lamps lit up the winding road. The lights that illuminated the fields in the deepening night seemed to scare Earl Dale's heart out. He didn't understand what a magic circle was, let alone what magical industrialization was, but...
The bright street lights on both sides of the road shattered his original values, and even the most basic logical consistency was difficult to achieve...
What on earth is wrong with this world?!
At this moment, this sentence gradually occupied Earl Dale's mind and lingered in his mind from beginning to end.
"Master...should we continue on our journey?" the old butler asked cautiously.
According to the original plan, since visibility is greatly affected at night, the convoy will stop and rest after entering Idar Territory.
However, looking at the bright lights in front of him, the old butler suddenly became a little overwhelmed.
If Earl Dale had not just paid all the fines and bail of dozens of gold coins for him, the old butler would probably have been arrested by the police officers of the Idar Public Security Bureau.
So much so that at this moment, he was still a little frightened and trembling with fear.
"Since the Idar people have lit up the lights around the road..." Earl Dale swallowed his saliva and made a decision:
"...Then let's continue on our journey and take a rest when we reach the Grand Heights ahead!"
From Earl Dale's fief to Idar Territory, the coachmen responsible for the journey and the private soldiers who escorted the property were already exhausted, but...
Looking at the miraculous scene before them, their previous drowsiness and tiredness were swept away at this moment, and they all stared at the bright lights in front of them with wide eyes.
You know, the lights that never go out at night are a privilege only the nobles can enjoy! But in Idar Territory, on the land beneath their feet, the bright lights seemed to have cost no resources or money, illuminating the wide roads and creating a long dragon of lights in the gradually falling night.
How did the Idar people do it? How did they keep the lights on? "How much waste would this cause? For the Idar people... these lights can't be free..." Mrs. Dennis murmured.
actually……
Mrs. Dennis actually guessed it right! Magic power is not only the clean energy of Idar Territory, but also a superb bug that can be recycled and regenerated countless times!
Because the magic power from the Aset Basin is so abundant, a large amount of magic power is continuously transmitted to the land of Idar County every moment under the dual effects of the magic crystal wires and the Stonehenge.
The magic industrialization of Idar Territory is just in its infancy, so after satisfying the magic supply of Idar Steel Plant and several other magic factories, most of the unused magic will be gathered back to the Aset Basin under the action of the magic well, thus forming a magic closed loop in a macro sense, a nesting doll structure that can be circulated infinitely!
so……
Since he did not need to spend magic power on daily maintenance, Bruno simply built these magic-driven street lights on the entire Idar Avenue that runs north and south through the Idar Territory.
The bright lights of Idar Avenue at night greatly promoted the connection between various parts of Idar Territory and facilitated the merchants and travelers traveling between Idar Territory and other parts of the empire.
Even though it was shrouded in darkness at this moment, there were still many pedestrians on Idar Avenue.
Among them were traveling merchants, commoners from Idar Territory, and even wandering poets who came here to admire the city...
The mixture of pedestrians of all kinds greatly increased the pressure and burden on the Idar Public Security Bureau, but it also made this originally remote and desolate territory gradually "come alive".
"Hurry up and read the latest issue of the daily newspaper! The Odin people are getting restless again!"
Suddenly, a shout came from the roadside not far away.
When he heard the word "Odin Empire", Earl Dale, who had been sitting in the carriage with his eyes closed in deep thought, suddenly opened the curtain of the carriage.
Looking in the direction where the sound came from, he was suddenly shocked.
A number of pedestrians gathered on the roadside not far away. They sat together and discussed the information that Earl Dale believed to be top secret.
"It is said that news has come from the north of the empire that Odin's army has begun to gather! The primary target is our Idar County!" A ragged middle-aged man said solemnly.
"No matter how many people Odin sends, they will all be defeated by our Idar soldiers! In my opinion, even if Odin's people don't attack, we should take the initiative to attack them!" said a young man confidently.
The young man's words aroused a chorus of approval.
After such a long period of subtle influence, the effect of strong martial virtues has been integrated into the words and deeds of the Idar people.
Therefore, after enduring a long period of pressure from the Odins, even the lowest-level people in Idar County were full of hatred towards the Odins!
The carriage had already stopped at Earl Dale's signal, but... listening to the heated discussions around him, he was stunned.
Because based on the simple clothes those people wore and the information revealed in their words, he was almost certain that the people in front of him were all the most ordinary people in Idar County!
But it was this group of people who were extremely concerned about the future of Idar Territory and could tell everything that happened in the north of the empire! How was this possible! Who told them this? Since entering the land of Idar Territory, Earl Dale was shocked by these unprecedented things again and again, such as the bridge made of "iron", the honest and efficient officials, and even the bright street lights on the roadside...
When faced with these, Earl Dale was indeed shocked to the point of being unable to close his mouth, but he held back.
However, at this moment, listening to the humble civilians and serfs sitting together on the roadside, discussing the secrets of the northern border of the empire, he finally couldn't help asking:
"How do you know this?"
Two-in-one, no more today.
(End of this chapter)
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