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When the city lord heard from them that some farmers who had to travel a long distance had starved to death on the way, he immediately mobilized the garrison to pick them up.
With such efforts, in just three days, the outside of the meeting hall was crowded with pale and skinny farmers.
The city lord did not intend to let them enter the council hall to rest, but there were too many people and they could not stay inside, so they had to set up an awning on the street in front of the door.
The farmers had no complaints about living on the streets; instead, they were quite content.
Because there is free bread and vegetable soup every day, and it’s three meals a day!
You know, in recent months they have only eaten one meal a day, and they have no idea about the next meal.
As for the quality of the food, we can only barely guarantee that it won’t kill people.
Another five days passed, and the legion that was searching outside returned to the city of Kedun to report that there were no farmers in the surrounding fields, so the city lord immediately gave the order and the conscription speech began.
Chapter 363: Project completed, set off back to Blue Star
In front of the meeting hall door.
The weather was slightly cool, and awnings were lined up in an orderly manner on both sides of the street, with beds and some daily necessities placed under the awnings.
The weather had not yet turned cold, so there was no need to cover the awning with wall cloth. The farmers who had come from all around the city of Kedun sat on the edge of their beds or on the ground, discussing with each other the content of the speech that the city lord was going to deliver.
They are not too worried about further tax increases or similar policies that will push them into a dead end, because they have already reached the end of the road.
If it weren't for the city lord's free bread and vegetable soup every day, they would probably have starved to death in the village.
It's already like this, what is there to worry about?
After a while, the morning sun slowly emerged from behind the mountain. The noise filling the streets paused. The farmers looked at the not-too-glaring sun with anticipation in their eyes.
The soldiers distributing breakfast are coming soon.
Soon, a team of soldiers pushed carts into the street corner, and the farmers stood up and lined up in an orderly manner.
It wasn't like this at the beginning.
Some farmers were so hungry that they cut in line and snatched bread from children and women. The soldiers who came over hung them on flagpoles on the streets and whipped them with horsewhips, which were so severe that their screams echoed throughout the street.
After that, everyone behaved well and learned how to queue.
Moreover, after a period of time, the farmers found that there was enough bread and vegetable soup, and there was no possibility of going empty-handed if they arrived late, so they naturally had no interest in fighting for it.
"Hey, Captain, we always had two pieces of bread before, why are there four pieces today?" The farmer in front of the line asked in confusion after receiving the bread.
"Idiot, wouldn't it be better to have two more dollars?" the farmer behind him cursed in a low voice.
The soldier distributing bread glanced at him, muttering in his heart that he would definitely not pass the "interview", and said, "There is a meeting today, which will take a long time, so breakfast and lunch will be distributed together."
The farmers looked sad when they heard this, as their free food was gone.
With this thought, even the bread I received didn't seem as tempting as usual.
The soldier had no idea what was going on in the farmers' minds, and he carried out his job steadfastly, distributing bread to everyone, and then pushed the cart away.
A farmer returned to his family with a loaf of bread and said sullenly, "Today should be the last time."
The wife sitting beside the bed was not too worried. She smiled and moved the pillow a little, revealing the cloth bag hidden underneath. She patted it gently with her hand and said, "These are all excellent white breads. We can exchange them for a lot of brown bread, enough for us to get through next year."
There are many farmers who have the same idea.
They only ate enough bread to sustain their lives and saved the rest to exchange for cheaper food after the meeting.
After the city lord found out about the situation, he sent someone to notify them that when they left, they would be given enough food to last until next year's farming.
However, the results were minimal and the farmers still insisted on their own opinions.
It’s not that I suspect the city lord is deceiving me, but I think it won’t go a wrong way to save a little more.
Seeing this, the city lord had no choice but to let them go.
The farmers were all in a bad mood and had their breakfast in silence - half a loaf of white bread for a family of three.
Then wait quietly for the meeting to begin.
The young child was simple-minded and did not notice the solemn atmosphere. He chatted and smiled as usual with his friends in the next shed.
"Are those who distribute the bread soldiers?" the child asked his companion.
"That should be it. I heard someone call them sir."
"What do you mean, sir?"
"Uh..." The companion scratched his head, unable to explain.
When his mother saw this, she smiled and said, "The commander is the captain of the soldiers and is responsible for managing them."
"Oh, so it's the same as the village chief?"
The child was still confused: "Soldiers...why don't they wear armor?"
Talking about this topic, the farmers also woke up from their worries about tomorrow: "Yes, why don't they wear armor, but all wear clothes that are the same green as grass?
Is that also called a soldier?"
"I heard that only elite soldiers are worthy of wearing armor. Elite soldiers...will not be sent to distribute bread, right?"
"Nonsense, these soldiers are the ones who drove back the Third Army of the Allied Forces."
This person seemed to know some inside information, and everyone looked at him.
Everyone's eyes were focused on him, and he couldn't help but look proud. "I saw the two sides fighting very close to me, and I heard the Lake soldier in green clothes say with my own ears, 'Call the Third Legion Headquarters.'"
"Doesn't this prove that it was the Third Army that drove the coalition forces away?"
"Later, when the coalition forces were fleeing, the soldiers pursuing them were all wearing green clothes!"
The military uniforms of the Sol Continent Kingdom are different from those of Blue Star. The latter are divided by military type, while the former are divided by military unit.
So the farmers looked at each other and thought that this logic was correct.
Some people were not used to his showing off and questioned, "Are you sure you saw it from the side?
There are professionals among the soldiers, how come they didn't notice you?"
"I have proof!"
"What evidence?"
The farmer looked around for a moment, reached into his pocket, fumbled for a while, took it out, and spread out his five fingers in front of everyone.
They stared over and saw a round stick lying in their palms. It was copper in color and its surface was very smooth, so smooth that it could even reflect the blurry surrounding scene.
"what is this?"
“Hehe.” He leaned his head closer to the crowd and whispered, “The arrows used by the soldiers of the Third Legion!”
"?"
"Arrows?"
"Hahaha... I say, even if you're lying, you have to find something believable, right?"
Everyone looked at each other blankly, and then laughed.
Being mocked by the crowd, he immediately became anxious: "I am not lying, this is what the Lake soldiers shot..."
"What did you shoot?"
Suddenly someone interrupted from behind, and everyone looked over subconsciously. After seeing the person's appearance, they immediately knelt on the ground:
"Lord Domit!"
The farmers fell to their knees, and Domit felt helpless.
A few days ago, he came to the door of the council hall in hiding to inspect the living conditions of the farmers. However, his adjutant had something to do with him, so he hurried over and shouted "Lord Domit", exposing his identity. Now, the farmers kneel when they see him.
"stand up."
The farmers stood up tremblingly, looking a little uneasy, which aroused Domit's suspicion.
I've never seen them afraid of me before. What's going on?
Domitt frowned: "What mistake did you make? Tell the truth!"
The farmer who had just stood up knelt down again: "Master Domit, spare my life!"
"I..." Domit's face twitched, and he finally suppressed the urge to complain, "Hurry up and tell me."
Everyone was shaking all over and dared not speak. Domit's face became increasingly serious. Did he really do something wrong?
It looks like this... isn't this a small matter?
But they stay in the meeting hall every day and don’t go anywhere else. What could they have done wrong?
Domit opened his mouth to ask, but someone in the crowd suddenly stood up, walked in front of him, knelt down, and raised his hands above his head: "Lord Domit, it's all one person's fault. I shouldn't have hidden the arrows of the Third Legion!"
Arrow?
Do we have archers?
Domit didn't react until he saw the shells in the farmer's hands. He said cheerfully, "This is called a bullet... um... it's a discarded arrow. If you like it, keep it."
"Thank you, Master Domit!"
After saying this, he looked around at the farmers who were nervously watching him and said, "The meeting is about to begin. Everyone, enter in an orderly manner under the guidance of the soldiers."
The farmer who "escaped the disaster" stood up with the help of others. He looked at the door of the council hall slowly opening and the back of Domit who walked into the door. A sudden impulse surged in his heart.
He murmured to himself: "If only I could..."
"What?" The farmer next to him couldn't hear clearly and asked instinctively.
Shaking his head, he pushed away the hand that was supporting his arm, calmed himself, and walked towards the steps in front of the door.
…………
High in the sky, Zhang Mu rushed out from the clouds and looked down at the earth.
There were mountains, rivers, and wilderness, but there was no army of elves.
After releasing the shadow spell, he muttered in confusion, “Damn, walking so fast?
Did Domit give the wrong information?
Isn't this the route the elves' army took?"